Biomimicry and a Electric Heater

The Electric Heater has three main parts, the heating unit, the fan and the oscillator.
There are many ways to make this parts more efficient through biomimicry. Biomimicry is the
design and production of products, materials, structures, and systems modeled on biological
entities and processes to make them more efficient. There are many products already designed
around biological structures.
Arguable the most important part in the electric heater is the heating unit. Typically a unit
consist of many wires. An electric current is used to heat the wires. A new more efficient heating
unit is based on an lobster eye. According to the creator of design Roger Johnson lobster-eye
inspired compound reflective lens that uniquely focuses and directs infrared energy. The
crustacean inspired licensees was dubbed IRLens. It has already been used in electric heaters.
The heater works very well for heating small spaces, like a tent when camping or a chilly room
in the winter, provided it was on the small side. It also reduces the likelihood of a fire because it
does not require burning hot wires. So the heater not only becomes more efficient but more safe
also.
The next part of the electric heater is the fan. The fan in the electric heater has two
blades which were fairly loud and inefficient. By replacing the fan with an Fe2 Owlet axial fan it
becomes much more efficient and quieter. The fans blades are based on owl feathers, and
designed by Ziehl-Abegg, Inc. The company based the fans blade on owl feathers because
owls are the quietest birds in the sky, thanks to their unique wings. An Owl's wings are specially
shaped and have fine serrations on the wing's trailing edge. According to asknature.org The
company tweaked its fan's blade geometry, added winglets to the blade tip, and created a
serrated trailing edge, the product is a more aerodynamic and uses less energy. The fan is also
quieter than other fans. Using this fan in the electric heater would result in a quieter product
which is ideal for small space. It is also uses less energy which is useful for people who can
afford to spend a lot of money on heating their homes.
The last part in the electric fan is the oscillator unit. The unit is not essential to the
electric heater and can be left off the electric heater are left out. It can also be replaced with a
more efficient system. An option for this system could be to use Electrolyte-filled twist-spun
carbon nanotube yarn. This method has never been used in this way but it could be modified so
that it can be. The system works by twisting two wires and tethering both ends to stabilize it.
Then the yarns are halfway inserted into an electricity conducting liquid with a counterelectrode.
A counterelectrode is a device that conducts a charge opposite of the electrolyte fluid
(asknature.org). This combination cause the yarn to untwist. Then end of the wires that are left
out of the fluid allows the wire to be retwisted. The system was inspired by several different
biological entities. They include spider webs (the fibers contract and relax), the flexing of
muscles (using tethered molecule units), and elephant trunks (uses reversible torsion force).
The twisting and untwisting of the wire could be used as a more efficient oscillator. The wire
would have to be adjusted to control the speed of the oscillation and the oscillation arch. This
system is more efficient and stronger than using a motor.
Replacing the different parts of the electric heater makes it more efficient. Since the
electric requires less energy it could be powered off of a battery. This means it could be given to
those who can not afford electricity so that they can stay warm in the winter. It could for example
be given to homeless and those who live poverty. Of course it does not have to be battery
powered. It can easily be used as an energy efficient heat source in a home.

Resources

"Innovation Inspired by Nature." AskNature. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Apr. 2017.