Going Green Has Never Been So Hot: The Peltier Effect and Geothermal Energy

Overview

Objectives/Goals This is my idea for a new and hopefully more efficient geothermal power plant. It is based on using the Peltier effect in reverse to convert temperature difference into electric power. Methods/Materials -Ice - Copper Wires - Metal Blocks - Heater - Thermal Compound - Peltier Element - Voltage Meter - Thermometer - Water First, I heated the thermal blocks to a certain temperature. Then, I used a box full of ice to cool a shallow dish, which I'd filled with water. Next, I connected the Peltier element to the voltage meter and placed it in the water. When the blocks were the right temperature, I put a little bit of thermal compound on the top of the element and placed the block on top of it. After that, I calculated the voltage (volts) and current(amp) and recorded it. Then I started over, but heated the blocks to different temperatures. Results Based on the results of my experiment, I can conclude that increasing the temperature difference does in fact raise the amount of electricity produced. Conclusions/Discussion The bigger the temperature difference, the more voltage you create. My experiment is important because it could be the first step leading to the invention of a new kind of geothermal power plant. In the future I am hoping scientists will take my research to the next step, and experiment with better equipment so as to reach higher temperatures and get more accurate results as well as potentially inventing the blueprint for an entirely new kind of geothermal power plant.

Competition history

• CSEF 2011 Alternative Energy (Junior Division Only) · Entry J0228

Resources

• CSEF project summary ↗

Related projects

Closest projects by meaning, across every fair and year in the corpus.

Browse more like this

• All Energy and Transport projects
• CSEF Energy and Transport projects
• Every CSEF 2011 project