Design and Analysis of a Thermoelectric Air-conditioning System
A. Anthony Adeyanju *
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
K. Manohar
Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering, University of West Indies, St. Augustine, Trinidad and Tobago.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Thermoelectric devices use the Peltier effect which 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 and experimental 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℃ 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.
Keywords: Thermoelectric, Peltier effect, coefficient of performance, refrigeration cycle.