Skip to main content

Ditch your batteries for candles with this flame-powered Bluetooth speaker

Imagine there was some kind of speaker that could simultaneously double as an elegant centerpiece on your dinner table or fireplace mantle – what form would it take? A globed, crystalline paperweight with tiny inlets for projecting sound, or a graceful hourglass with drivers tastefully tucked away? Determined to create a speaker that could maintain a charge wirelessly and tastefully fit in alongside a sophisticated meal, Italian engineers settled on the candle. As a result, Gianluca Gamba has harnessed the power of combustion to create the Pelty, a unique kind of Bluetooth speaker that uses the thermal energy of a single candle’s flame to amplify music.

Gamba is currently looking to secure $100,000 in funding via an Indiegogo campaign.

The Pelty gets its namesake from a phenomenon – the “Peltier effect” – discovered in the 1830s by French physicist Jean-Charles-Athanase Peltier, which states that energy passing through two metals generates a difference in heat, which in turn generates electricity. The Pelty’s thermoelectric generator creates enough energy to continuously power an efficient amplifier, which in turn drivers a small 3-inch speaker once its candle is up and burning. The product’s Indiegogo page explains that just about any candle will work with the Pelty, though the device will ship with instructions on what size to pick and how to place it in the speaker. Gamba has avoided plastic and metal, instead favoring ceramic, glass, and wood – all Italian-sourced – for the device. Ceramic, in particular, resists heat well and has desirable insulation and acoustic properties.

The speaker contains a full-range, 3-inch driver with a nominal impedance of 8 Ohms and a 12-watt (RMS) amplifier. Because the $200 “Super Early-bird” offering is gone at this stage, you’ll have to shell out at least $265 to secure your own candlelight speaker. Currently there are a few sub-$300 options for a black-and-white and colored version of the speaker – $400 will nab you a personalized Pelty with an engraved name or sentence, while $700 gets you a golden candle-speaker. The next option is the $9,500 “Committed reseller support” for retailers looking to stock up on the device.

We’ve encountered this form of energy conversion before with the BioLite CampStove, another nifty gadget that converts waste heat into usable electricity via a thermoelectric generator, making device-charging a breeze during a weekend in the woods. Clearly, fire-power is still relevant today.

Editors' Recommendations

Alex Tretbar
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Alex Tretbar, audio/video intern, is a writer, editor, musician, gamer and sci-fi nerd raised on EverQuest and Magic: The…
C’mon, Apple — if Sonos can admit it was wrong about Bluetooth, so can you
Handoff between Apple iPhone and Apple HomePod second-gen.

For years, Sonos has relentlessly championed the benefits of Wi-Fi audio. The company even ran a cheeky (and hilarious) campaign showing how annoying it can be to use Bluetooth, featuring pinging notifications and phone calls routinely interrupting what should have otherwise been enjoyable music-listening sessions. Times have changed, however, and not only has Sonos added Bluetooth to its two portable speakers (the Move and the Roam), but recent leaks suggest that it’s considering expanding support for Bluetooth into its main portfolio of powered speakers too, starting with the new Sonos Era 100 and Sonos Era 300.

This amounts to a tacit acknowledgment that Sonos may have been too zealous in its past refusal to adopt Bluetooth audio, and I can’t help but think that it might be time for another company to rethink its rejection of Bluetooth: Apple.

Read more
Klipsch follows the success of The Fives with The Sevens and Nines powered speakers
Klipsch The Sevens in walnut finish next to a turntable.

Most of the focus on getting better TV sound has been on soundbars, but when Klipsch introduced The Fives in 2020, it reminded us that a really good set of stereo speakers can sometimes be the best solution of all. Apparently, we're not the only ones who thought so because Klipsch has introduced two new Heritage Wireless models -- The Sevens ($1,299) and The Nines ($1,499) -- which take the same winning formula from The Fives and add more power for bigger spaces. Both models are available starting January 31 at Klipsch.com, in both ebony and walnut wood finishes.

The Sevens and The Nines use the same midcentury modern design as The Fives, with wooden enclosures and removable cloth grilles. Easy access controls are placed on the top of the right channel speaker, giving you the ability to switch sources and adjust volume without needing a remote -- though a remote is also included for full couch-based control.

Read more
Marshall’s latest Bluetooth speaker has four drivers for 360 sound
Marshall Middleton.

The Marshall Middleton ($299) is the company's latest addition to its lineup of guitar amp-inspired Bluetooth speakers, and it's available starting January 31 at marshallheadphones.com. The Middleton, as its name somewhat suggests, sits in the middle of the Marshall portable family -- it shares the same rectangular shape as the Emberton II but is heavier and more powerful than the Stockton II.

What makes the Middleton stand out is its unique quad-driver configuration, which places speakers on all four sides. There are two full-range drivers, each with its own 20-watt amplifier, and two tweeters, powered by a pair of 10-watt amps.  The Middleton uses the same "true stereophonic" system as the Emberton II to achieve what the company calls multidirectional, 360-degree stereo sound.

Read more