I wrote about NRGLab and its role in alternate-energy generation in a blog earlier this month. At that time, I briefly mentioned the technology that caught my attention: the SH box, which makes use of the thermoelectric effect to exploit ambient temperature differences to generate an electric voltage.
Much like how solar panels converts light energy into electricity, a SH box is packed with a special poly crystal that produces electricity from environmental heat. NRGLab has promised to send me additional details about the SH box, which should be coming next week.
In the meantime, below are some bullet points of publicly available information gleaned from various videos and publications that the company has released to date. For simplicity, I’ve divided it into what is known about SH box as a product, as well as the poly crystals that it is made of.
- The SH box does not require any fuel or external input, and works up to 24 hours a day unattended.
- As the SH box is not dependent on weather conditions such as wind or sunlight, it can be installed indoors or under a roof.
- SH boxes are guaranteed to generate electricity for up to 20 years from the date of sale. Units will be replaced if they fail within this period.
- Standard capacity planned for the SH box is 30W, 40W, 50W, 60W and 500W and 1kW.
- The poly crystal is created using three secret components, and is mixed using distilled water under normal room temperature conditions.
- A standard poly crystal “cell” consists of the poly crystal sandwiched between an aluminum base and a carbon lid.
- Poly crystal cells can be stacked to increase the voltage, which makes the technology easily scalable.
- Cells can withstand temperatures of over 400 degrees Celsius – which is when the aluminum alloy that makes up the base starts melting.
- Generating 1KW/h will require cells weighing about 80KG
In my next blog, I’m going to share additional information about the properties of the poly crystal, which should make it clear how the breakthrough achieved by NRGLab puts it far ahead of other research projects aimed at developing a viable thermoelectric generator.
Moreover, the self-contained and environmental friendly characteristics of the SH box also lends itself for use in situations that may not be possible with active power generators, which we will also be exploring. Stay tuned and check back soon.