With the custom PCB in hand, I set the thermoelectric generator up in the same way, with a temperature differential of about 40 deg F.

The output of the TPS61200 is set to be about 2.1V. Note that most of this PCB is for a variety of other projects. Only the bottom left section with the boost converter is relevant here.

The output is connected to the battery input on my ultra-low-power development board, which charges up the onboard supercapacitor. Note that I taped over the solar cells on the development board, so that they do not contribute to the available power.

With the system running for only a few minutes, the supercapacitor was charged up, and the development board was running, evident by the periodic flash of its low-power LED.

• Low-cost Peltier plates can indeed power low power electronics with a simple boost converter setup
  • Even with a minimal temperature differential of about 40 deg F
• Maintaining a constant temperature differential across the TEG over time is key to long-term functionality