Performance analysis of a thermoelectric air conditioning

Resumo

This paper presents the theoretical development of the equations that allow to evaluate the performance of an air conditioning system based on the thermoelectric effect. The cooling system is based on a phenomena discovered by Jean Charles Athanase Peltier, in 1834. According to this when electricity runs through a junction between two semiconductors with different properties, heat is dissipated or absorbed. Thus, thermoelectric modules are made by semiconductors materials sealed between two plates through which a continuous current flows and keeps one plate hot and the other cold. The most important parameters to evaluate the performance of the device thermoelectric refrigeration are the coefficient of performance, the heat pumping rate and the maximum temperature difference between the hot side and the cold side of the thermoelectric module.