Theoretical and Experimental Analysis of a Thermoelectric Air-conditioning System

Abstract

Thermoelectric devices use the Peltier effect that creates a heat flux between the junctions of two different types of materials. The thermoelectric module also referred to as a heat pump transfers heat from one side to the other when a DC current is applied. This study carried out the theoretical analysis of a thermoelectric air conditioning system. A prototype thermoelectric air conditioner of 286 W cooling capacity was built and a testing enclosure made from plywood and Styrofoam was also constructed in order to validate the theoretical result with an experimentation. It was discovered that thermoelectric air conditioning took 4 minutes to reach its desired temperature of 22°C, whereas the standard air conditioning system (refrigeration cycle) took 20 minutes to cool to a room temperature. Economically, it was also discovered that thermoelectric air conditioning system is 50% cheaper than the refrigeration cycle air conditioning systems. The thermoelectric air conditioner has cheaper maintenance and greater estimated life span of 7 years more than the refrigeration air conditioner. This is because the air conditioner that operates on the refrigeration cycle uses a rotating compressor, while the thermoelectric air conditioner uses thermometric module.

Thermoelectric building temperature control: a potential assessment

“…Building technology has emerged as one region of particular interest for thermoelectric applications. Numerous works have examined the possibility to use thermoelectrics for the purpose of air conditioning in theoretical [13][14][15][16] and experimental [17][18][19][20][21][22][23] setups. The predominant use case is the cooling case, while one study focuses on an IoT-control approach and also uses the heating function in reversed operation mode [23].…”