Response characteristics of LED car lamps driven by thermoelectric generator and energy storage components

A waste heat recovery system with thermoelectric generation was constructed to convert waste heat into electrical energy for powering light emitting diodes（LED）car lamps and enhancing the efficient utilization of low-grade energy. The response characteristics of the waste heat recovery system during different stages of energy conversion and LED car lamp operation were examined with the constant temperature heating furnace to replicate the heat source. The variations in light output characteristics of LED car lamps independently driven by energy storage components were investigated in practical scenarios. The results show that the energy storage component can efficiently store and recover electric energy from waste heat, operate an LED car lamp independently and mitigate voltage fluctuations resulting from temperature changes. The energy density of lithium batteries is high with storing substantial electric energy. The fast cold start speeds can be realized with extended lighting duration when the LED car lamps are drived independently, but the charging time is longer. The cold start speeds of supercapacitors are sluggish with rapid charging and discharging rates, which is helpful to alleviate the driving voltage fluctuation of LED car lamp when the waste heat recovery system is activated briefly.