Sun Bucket Thermal Energy Harvesting System
Team Members Heading link
- Nat Hernandez Orozco
- Dhruvin Patel
- Viral Yemul
Project Description Heading link
Sun Buckets are designed to store thermal energy harvested using the sun to provide an apparatus that can be used for cooking. Our task was to design a product to harness the thermal energy and convert it to electrical energy that can be stored and then used to power devices. Integrating available components such as voltage regulators, thermoelectric generators (TEG), and cooling systems we aimed to find the most efficient combination in order to maximize the use of the thermal energy remaining in the Sun Bucket when it is not being used for cooking. Our product will attach onto the Sun Bucket and produce an electrical output as the Sun Bucket cools from ~350℃ to 150℃. In addition, we predicted the useful electrical power output of our system.