Waste Heat Engine Runs On Low Temps

Cyclone Power Technologies has developed a new Waste Heat Engine, capable of running on waste heat from any source, even those with lower temperatures. Sources can include the sun, a running engine, or exhaust among many others. The 12 cylinder engine is on the large size, taking up 155 cubic inches, and it gets about 20 horsepower. While somewhat clunky, it’s much smaller than other waste heat-based power generators we’ve seen, and can be used on much smaller scales.

Cyclone Power Technologies says the WHE can be used to boost power in gas- and diesel-powered generators, helping to increase power and decrease fuel consumption. They also say it can be connected to solar panels on residential homes to provide a source of power like a back-up generator, costing about 20% of the installation costs of standard photovoltaic systems.

With the ability to run on practically any waste heat source, the versatility of the WHE is promising. Catch a video of the product and see it in action.

http://www.ecogeek.org/content/view/1735/

Here's the link to the video:
http://www.engadget.com/2008/06/04/cyclone-waste-heat-engine-promises-power-on-the-cheap/


This sounds like a great idea. All you need for it to run is some sort of heat differential.

A simple box of parts mass produced so that one buys it for 30 bucks and puts it out in the sun.

so that during the winter months it could be gening some kws for us off of otherwise wasted heat

OK, I'm pretty sure that's a silly question for this particular technology, but is there any other kind of heat-exchange technology that can take advantage of this differential for the purposes of energy generation?