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Living Room / Re: Anybody on DC own an RV/Campervan, or completed a conversion?
« Last post by Shades on August 21, 2016, 12:27 AM »To be honest, I wasn't aware of such devices. Heat exchangers/heat engines I did know about, but efficiency of such devices is pretty poor (when not in a controlled lab environment).
After skimming over this document (pdf) it says that the efficiency of thermoelectric generators is even worse. Apparently these cost very little, but if the energy returned by these these devices is relatively little, seems to me like a waste of money.
The document also includes a concept from BMW where they their exhaust system in combination with these generators to generate power. Waste heat from an oven or small kitchen device seems to me hardly worth the effort. Besides, whatever waste heat is coming off these devices will indirectly help with heating the inside of the RV. And that goes a long way when the RV is well insulated, as it will help with the expenditure of LPG to keep your RV on the temperature you have set on your thermostat.
Perhaps you would better spend the money you would set aside for those generators om buying thermal underwear. Retaining the heat your own body generates is the most efficient way of keeping yourself comfortable. Your body has no problem heating the extremities (hands/feet) when the torso remains heated. As a bonus, such underwear doesn't get in the way when you move around in the RV. Parking the RV out of the wind will make you spend much less energy than you could ever hope to regain with the use of thermoelectric generators.
After skimming over this document (pdf) it says that the efficiency of thermoelectric generators is even worse. Apparently these cost very little, but if the energy returned by these these devices is relatively little, seems to me like a waste of money.
The document also includes a concept from BMW where they their exhaust system in combination with these generators to generate power. Waste heat from an oven or small kitchen device seems to me hardly worth the effort. Besides, whatever waste heat is coming off these devices will indirectly help with heating the inside of the RV. And that goes a long way when the RV is well insulated, as it will help with the expenditure of LPG to keep your RV on the temperature you have set on your thermostat.
Perhaps you would better spend the money you would set aside for those generators om buying thermal underwear. Retaining the heat your own body generates is the most efficient way of keeping yourself comfortable. Your body has no problem heating the extremities (hands/feet) when the torso remains heated. As a bonus, such underwear doesn't get in the way when you move around in the RV. Parking the RV out of the wind will make you spend much less energy than you could ever hope to regain with the use of thermoelectric generators.
