Implementation of Thermal-Energy-Harvesting Technology on Pavement

Energy harvesting is one of the techniques of high interest for approaching the global energy problem without depleting natural resources. Energy-harvesting technology from the road is a new research area, because the energy surrounding road space is available in many different forms, such as wind, solar, thermal, and mechanical energy. The goal of this study is to determine the possibility of an energy-harvesting technology for pavement that absorbs the solar radiation, thus increasing the internal temperature. There is a temperature difference maintained between the atmospheric temperature and the pavement surface. This temperature difference is tapped and converted into electrical energy using a thermoelectric (TE) module device. The TE module device's system captures energy from this temperature difference, based on the Seebeck effect. This paper describes various application procedures for pavement. The system focuses on the development of an energy-harvesting system for energy use. The present research indicates that the limited simple system in this study can be used to capture heat energy from pavement, and shows promise for supporting power from waste solar energy in roads. Also, the TE module can be placed within road space, whereas solar panels have to be exposed to sunlight.