Hot Pick: Thermal Power Watches

In the world of watches, a lot of factors are considered in the process of deeming the “superstar” watch. Watch brand, watch design, watch function/functions, and watch durability are among the basic things most people consider.

A watch’s power source is another.

There are various watch power source options available. Spring watches, self-winding watches, battery powered watches and light/solar powered watches fill in the list. Within this roster of available watch power sources, thermal power watches are the most seldom found.

Thermal power watches aren’t the most common of watch types. In the varied array of power sources for watches, thermal power watches take its power source from the temperature difference between its immediate surrounding environment and the wearer’s arm.

Electric current is generated by thermal power watches through semiconductors contained within the watch. When the watch’s back touches the user’s body, the device’s system detects this, and converts it to energy, powering the watch.

It’s been noted that a temperature difference within a junction of two different metals (or different semiconductors) creates voltage. This is called a Seebeck effect (which had been discovered about 150 years ago).

As studies have shown, if the heat generated by a human body is 100 percent converted into electricity, it would be enough to power a 60 watt light bulb.

Providing a Seebeck effect in a watch system is pretty much how thermal power watches work.

Citizen’s Eco-Drive Thermo is a good example of thermal power watches. Launched in 1999, the Eco-Drive Thermo stands to part of Citizen’s environmentally friendly powered watches. Preceding it, Citizen’s light energy powered watches and movement energy powered watches. The Eco-Drive Thermo is Citizen’s 3rd installment, in Citizen’s goal to produce more environment concerned watches.

Development and advances in the watch’s thermal power technology has grown since then. Of course, Citizen Watches isn’t the first to utilize thermal power as a source for energy.

Thermal power has been used since 1977. The Voyager 1, a space probe launched on the same year, operated on a thermal power generated system. Of course, thermal power watches don’t exactly need to generate as much power as the Voyager 1. Thermal power watches function with state-of-the-art micro-machining technology, miniaturizing the power setup implemented on the Voyager 1 to a smaller scale, making thermal power watches’ work much more easier, given that heat and a Seebeck effect isn’t difficult to gain.

The bottom line is, thermal power watches aim to be more than just a simple watch. The absence of an electric battery reduces the wastage that comes once a battery dies, making thermal power watches more Earth friendly.

With a concern for the Earth’s future, thermal power watches are more than just timepieces. They are more of a statement.