5 surprising ways heat becomes electricity

Thermoelectric generators convert heat directly into electricity using the Seebeck effect without any moving parts.

These devices typically have a low energy conversion efficiency, often averaging around 5 to 10 percent.

You might encounter them as stove fans that circulate warm air using only the heat from your stove.

Wider adoption is limited by high costs and the specialized engineering expertise required for effective system integration.

They are used in extreme environments like space probes to generate power from radioactive decay heat.