[Stoves] TEGs In-Reply-To=%3C9pc0kb1vrd6p4omok6ncg7iqig2cgfrf3j%404ax.com%3E

[Crispin Pemberton-Pigott]

Dear Andrew and All

>> The small stoves with a limited power generating capacity (5W or so) 
>> sold in Uganda are, I hear, increasing fuel consumption because people 
>> use the stove all day to power a radio...

>This unintended consequence only goes to show how important it is to people
to have access to electrical power and in no way detracts from the idea of
using TEGs to improve stove performance.

Agreed. What is easier to 'justify' (if one needs to justify the rational
decisions of others) is space heating stoves. They have to dump the heat
into the home anyway so the efficiency is not of much importance. Prof
Lodoysamba in Mongolia built a stove with a 50 W TEG mounted on the heat
exchanger so the heat passed through it before getting to the room. As the
stove is one for months at a time, the household can watch wrestling for the
entire time.

>There is also a firm promoting a gravity light, it achieves about 15 lumen
from a led as a 12kg bag of sand drops. To us in the grid connected world it
seems an inconsequential amount of power but when nothing else is
available...

That is a really good idea. Better than a bicycle which takes continuous
effort. The windup radio works that way too. Next will come the clockwork
orange.

Regards
Crispin