• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.16 no.1
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• pp.62-69
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• 2004

Thermoelectric module is a device that can produce cooling in a direct manner using the electrical energy. The purpose of this study is to investigate the performance of thermoelectric module and cooling system equipped with the thermoelectric module. The performance of a thermoelectric module is estimated using two methods; theoretical analysis based on one-dimensional energy equations and experimental tests using heat source, heat sink and brass conduction extenders. For the thermoelectric cooling system, the temperatures in the chamber are recorded and then compared with those of lumped system analysis. The results show that the cooling capacity and COP of the thermoelectric module increases as the temperature difference between hot and cold surface decreases, and there is particular current at which cooling capacity reaches its maximum value. The experimental results for the thermoelectric cooling system are similar to those of lumped system analysis.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Safety
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• v.24 no.6
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• pp.13-19
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• 2009

The thermoelectric cooling system consisted of the thermoelectric module, a heat sink and a cooling fan, respectively. Also, the piezoelectric actuator was applied to improve the performance of thermoelectric cooling system and investigate the heat transfer phenomenon. The temperature distribution of test section was measured to investigate cooling characteristics of thermoelectric cooling system. The flow phenomenon of test section was visualized using visualization device. When the piezoelectric actuator was applied to the heat transfer process of thermoelectric cooling system, acoustic streaming was occurred in test section. The acoustic streaming was occurred forced convection flow, and was regularly formed the temperature distribution in test section. The results clearly show that the acoustic streaming is one of the prime effects to enhance the convection heat transfer and can enhance the performance of thermoelectric cooling system.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.19 no.2
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• pp.162-168
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• 2007

This paper presents the effects of thermoelectric module arrangement on the cooling performance of an air conditioner using thermoelectric module. A prototype of air cooling system, employing several thermoelectric modules, has been designed and built. The evaporative cooling technique is adopted for hot side of the module. The number of thermoelectric module in the system has been varied in the range of $2{\sim}8$. The optimal operation conditions, such as input power to the thermoelectric module, fans and pump, have been determined for each arrangement of the system and the cooling performance has been compared under the optimal operation. It is found that both cooling capacity and COP are increased as the number of thermoelectric module increased. It is also found that cooling capacity can be improved by connecting the thermoelectric modules in series than in parallel, while the COP is little affected.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.26 no.8
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• pp.375-380
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the cooling and heating performance of a standalone-type thermoelectric system equipped with a thermoelectric module. The system consists of a blower and two thermoelectric modules with a fin, which is soldered onto both sides of the thermoelectric module and a courtesy light. The thermoelectric system experiment is conducted with the intake voltage to find the optimum cooling and heating performance of each. The results showed that the cooling capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) were 22 W and 0.31, and the heating capacity and COP were 147 W and 1.1, respectively. In the vehicle cooling and heating performance test in a climate wind tunnel, the results showed that the standalone thermoelectric system's cooling performance was slightly better than the base system; and the heating performance of the standalone thermoelectric system was $54.1^{\circ}C$ and the COP was 1.3, compared to the base system.

• Proceedings of the KSME Conference
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• 2007.05b
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• pp.2079-2084
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• 2007

A small-scale thermoelectric cooling system was built in an effort to enhance the performance of the refrigeration system by utilizing the water-cooled jacket which was attached on the hot side of the thermoelectric module. Considered design parameters for the water-cooled jacket included the geometry of the flow passage inside the jacket and the flow rate of cooling water. The higher flow rate of cooling water in the jacket resulted in a better performance of the refrigeration system. The introduction of geometrical complexity of the cooling water flow passage to the cooling jacket also showed significant improvement on the performance of the thermoelectric refrigeration system such as the cooling capacity and the COP of the refrigeration system.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.214-220
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• 2002

A small air conditioner using thermoelectric module has been designed and built. Three types of cooling methods, such as air cooling, closed-loop water cooling, and evaporative cooling, for hot side of thermoelectric module have been investigated. Among three types of cooling method, the evaporative cooling method is seen to be the most effective to achieve the steady state operation of a thermoelectric air conditioner The system performance with evaporative cooling method are also studied in detail for several oprating parameters, such as input power to the thermoelectric module, water or air flow rate at the hot side, and air flow rate at the cold side. The results obtained indicate that the cooling capacity of a system is increased with an increase in the input power to the thermoelectric module while the system COP is decreased. It is also found that the optimal air flow rate as well as water flow rate at the hot side is needed for the best system performance at a liven operating condition. Both the system COP and cooling capacity are increased as the air flow rate at cold side is increased.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.26 no.5
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• pp.224-230
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• 2014

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the performance of supplemental cooling and heating system equipped with the 1 kW thermoelectric module. The system consist of 96 thermoelectric modules, heat sink with louver fin and water cooling jacket which is attached on the hot side of the thermoelectric module. The cooling and heating performance test of the thermoelectric system is conducted with various conditions, such as intake voltage, air inlet temperature, air flow volume, water inlet temperature and water flow rate at calorimeter chamber in consideration of environmental conditions in realistic vehicle drive. The experimental results of a thermoelectric system shows that the cooling capacity and COP is 1.03 kW, and 1.0, and heating capacity and COP is 1.53 kW, and 1.5 respectively.

• Journal of Power System Engineering
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• v.12 no.4
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• pp.32-38
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• 2008

The improvement of cooling ability for the air conditioner is the most efficient method of application of its system. Therefore, this study has been investigated the improvement of cooling ability for the air conditioner using automotive by attached of a thermoelectric module. According to the result of test, capacity of the thermoelectric module make temperature range from $-75^{\circ}C$ to $+300^{\circ}C$ possible to cooling and exothermic. In addtion to, the reduction effect of energy revealed and the effect of liquid hammer remained with safety by attached the thermoelectric module. It was found that the air conditioner system by attached thermoelectric module have better cooling ability than the air conditioner system of existing vehicle.

• Korean Journal of Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Engineering
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• v.21 no.3
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• pp.149-156
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• 2009

A small-scale thermoelectric cooling system was built in an effort to enhance the performance of the refrigeration system by utilizing the water-cooled jacket which was attached to the hot side of the thermoelectric module. Considered design parameters for the water-cooled jacket were the geometry of the flow passage inside the jacket and the flow rate of cooling water. The higher flow rate of cooling water in the jacket resulted in a better performance of the refrigeration system. The increase in the number of channels for water flow passage inside the cooling jacket also showed significant improvement on the performance of the thermoelectric cooling system such as the cooling capacity and the COP of the refrigeration system.

• Journal of Power Electronics
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.187-193
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• 2010

This paper proposes a cooling system using thermoelectric elements for improving the output of building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) modules. The temperature characteristics that improve the output of a BIPV system have rarely been studied up to now but some researchers have proposed a method using a ventilator. The efficiency of a ventilator depends mainly on the weather such as wind, irradiation etc. Because this cooling system is so sensitive to the velocity of the wind, it is unable to operate in the nominal operating cell temperature (NOCT) or the standard test condition (STC) which allow it to generate the maximum output. This paper proposes a cooling system using thermoelectric elements to solve such problems. The temperature control of thermoelectric elements can be controlled independently in an outdoor environment because it is performed by a micro-controller. In addition, it can be operated around the NOCT or the STC through an algorithm for temperature control. Therefore, the output of the system is increased and the efficiency is raised. This paper proves the validity of the proposed method by comparing the data obtained through experiments on the cooling systems of BIPV modules using a ventilator and thermoelectric elements.