I'm not familiar with electronics at all [I'm a grad student...in architecture] but I'm building a cooking hotplate with a translucent body that I want to do the following things:

collect residual cooking energy [or divert] generated with an induction plate [or a regular one]
store that energy
translate the energy into light at a given time of day with LED's so that the case of the hot plate seems to glow

I figure I need an induction plate, a battery, some way to get energy to the led in the body of the hotplate, and a clock that controls when the light is on.
The idea is that the hot plate has a sort of light shadow that lasts into the night and can act as a hearth/light source after it's been used to cook with. I have drawings of what I want to look like, but no clue as how to mechanize it.
I'd really appreciate any suggestions anyone could offer, or even an idea of which parts I'd need. Thanks very much!

 

you wish to collect the cooking energy that did not get absorbed into the food/cookware, and then store it, and use it later for a LED?

why?

 

If you can insulate it very well, perhaps a few hundred thermocouple junctions can power the lED.

For longer storage, use the thermocouples to run an air pump and charge a tank. Use the compressed air to power a turbogenerator.

 

You want the plastic to glow while cooking? There are many different ways to do something like this, sounds like you have boxed yourself in.

 

I came across this article a while back. It has one major caveat that is the first line of the second paragraph. Thought it was interesting and sort of fit this topic...

Nanotechnology Being Used to Make Antennas That Collect Heat and Produce Electricity

 

If your hotplate is an induction heating type (it looks like they are becoming popular here in S.E. Asia), you can get current with which to charge a small rechargeable battery by putting a turn or three of properly insulated wire (take the temperature to which it might be subjected into account and make sure there is sufficient creepage distance and dielectric strength for safety), loosely coupled to the induction coil.

The output of the coil can be rectified with suitable rectifies. Schottky rectifiers would probably be the best, and the resulting direct current can be used to charge a rechargeable cell or battery.

Taking the battery voltage and using it to power an LED clock is a whole 'nother task; the main problem dealing with a battery that constantly charges and runs down. But it can be done.

It would be best to team up with a sharp 3rd year EE student who is looking for a project and knows something about microcontrollers.

 

Thanks. I may not do the electronics myself [really designing the idea] but it's good to know that it could work.

One more thing: could the hotplates be networked? ie. if this were a dormitory situation, with rooms and rooms of people, and I wanted the hotplates to sense whether other hotplates were in the vicinity, and respond by glowing more brightly, could that work? [I know this probably sounds very odd. ]

Thanks again! This is a wonderful resource.

 

Yes, it sound very odd. Certainly some method can be worked out, such as signaling over the power lines, with radio signals, or with dedicated cables that carry the information, depending upon what local laws allow. Not that any of this would be easy, but it would be achievable.