Patent ID: 8618406

Claim:
A thermoelectric power generation unit, comprising: a plurality of walls arranged to form an enclosure with an open interior space, each wall having an inner surface facing toward the open interior space and an outer surface facing away from the open interior space; a first heat sink attached to the inner surface of a first one of the walls so that the first heat sink protrudes into the open interior space of the enclosure; a second heat sink positioned at the outer surface of the first wall so that the second heat sink protrudes outward from the enclosure and opposes the first heat sink; a thermoelectric module interposed between the first and second heat sinks adjacent the first wall, the thermoelectric module including a plurality of p-type and n-type semiconductor elements electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel between first and second substrates; an inlet in the enclosure that leads into the open interior space; an outlet in the enclosure that leads from the open interior space; and wherein the thermoelectric module is operable to generate a voltage having a first polarity if a relatively hot fluid flows in the enclosure and the opposite polarity if a relatively cold fluid flows in the enclosure.