Are you familiar with thermoelectrics/thermogenerators? I think this is a golden goose that Big Oil killed. Energy to heat, but no heat to energy? Basically free energy. They have some devices now that turn engine heat into electricity, but it's hard to find. Imagine heat energy from the sun, the desert, the earth, the human body, a simple fire, etc... Power a Cell Phone by starting a fire! Dig a deep hole for geothermal heat to power a house!
Is it that hard to make a "solar cell" that runs off heat radiation instead of light radiation? I think not!