The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs)
Thermoelectric devices (TEDs) are clean energy devices with diverse applications; however, the question of their energy in/efficiency and how to improve it, has been a subject of research/debate among many researchers and non/users. In an effort to contribute to this quest/scientific discourse, this...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2024-03-01
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| Series: | Results in Engineering |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259012302400080X |
| _version_ | 1797247775195267072 |
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| author | Nganyang Paul Bayendang Vipin Balyan Mohamed Tariq Kahn |
| author_facet | Nganyang Paul Bayendang Vipin Balyan Mohamed Tariq Kahn |
| author_sort | Nganyang Paul Bayendang |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Thermoelectric devices (TEDs) are clean energy devices with diverse applications; however, the question of their energy in/efficiency and how to improve it, has been a subject of research/debate among many researchers and non/users. In an effort to contribute to this quest/scientific discourse, this paper focuses on energy in/efficiency in TEDs when operated as thermoelectric coolers (TECs) for cooling purposes. A practical research was performed using sixteen identical TECs operated in the same performance test conditions and powered in turns using 12 V, 10 V, 8 V, 6 V and 4 V, with a 5 A current limit, to investigate TECs in/efficiency inconsistency. It was found that the TECs (TEC-12706 from the same manufacturer) used in the study all performed differently under identical test setup; however, they all performed optimally at 8 V, with the best (TEC3) attaining a cooling of −4.81 °C with an input power of 21.09 W and the worst (TEC9) attaining a cooling of 12.63 °C with a power input of 45.52 W. From our findings, TECs in/efficiency can therefore be summarily attributed to five fundamental factors and though TECs efficiency is well known to be limited by 1) its intrinsic p-n junction semiconductor chemistry and physics at materials level; however, we can conclude that given the same semiconductor technology, TEC inefficiency is further exacerbated by 2) low-quality manufacturing/assembly at module level, 3) inadequate designs at application/system level, 4) substandard system construction/workmanship at implementation level and 5) general lack of theoretical/physical knowledge of TECs operation at users’ level. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T03:35:44Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e97b2547cb334520aaa016a27f93f8d2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2590-1230 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T20:04:03Z |
| publishDate | 2024-03-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Results in Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-e97b2547cb334520aaa016a27f93f8d22024-03-24T07:00:49ZengElsevierResults in Engineering2590-12302024-03-0121101827The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs)Nganyang Paul Bayendang0Vipin Balyan1Mohamed Tariq Kahn2Corresponding author.; Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Bellville Campus 7535, Cape Town, South AfricaCape Peninsula University of Technology, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Bellville Campus 7535, Cape Town, South AfricaCape Peninsula University of Technology, Department of Electrical, Electronic and Computer Engineering, Bellville Campus 7535, Cape Town, South AfricaThermoelectric devices (TEDs) are clean energy devices with diverse applications; however, the question of their energy in/efficiency and how to improve it, has been a subject of research/debate among many researchers and non/users. In an effort to contribute to this quest/scientific discourse, this paper focuses on energy in/efficiency in TEDs when operated as thermoelectric coolers (TECs) for cooling purposes. A practical research was performed using sixteen identical TECs operated in the same performance test conditions and powered in turns using 12 V, 10 V, 8 V, 6 V and 4 V, with a 5 A current limit, to investigate TECs in/efficiency inconsistency. It was found that the TECs (TEC-12706 from the same manufacturer) used in the study all performed differently under identical test setup; however, they all performed optimally at 8 V, with the best (TEC3) attaining a cooling of −4.81 °C with an input power of 21.09 W and the worst (TEC9) attaining a cooling of 12.63 °C with a power input of 45.52 W. From our findings, TECs in/efficiency can therefore be summarily attributed to five fundamental factors and though TECs efficiency is well known to be limited by 1) its intrinsic p-n junction semiconductor chemistry and physics at materials level; however, we can conclude that given the same semiconductor technology, TEC inefficiency is further exacerbated by 2) low-quality manufacturing/assembly at module level, 3) inadequate designs at application/system level, 4) substandard system construction/workmanship at implementation level and 5) general lack of theoretical/physical knowledge of TECs operation at users’ level.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259012302400080XThermoelectrics (TE)Thermoelectric devices (TEDs)Thermoelectric coolers (TECs)TE modules (TEMs)Thermoelectric cooling systemTECs in/efficiency |
| spellingShingle | Nganyang Paul Bayendang Vipin Balyan Mohamed Tariq Kahn The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs) Results in Engineering Thermoelectrics (TE) Thermoelectric devices (TEDs) Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) TE modules (TEMs) Thermoelectric cooling system TECs in/efficiency |
| title | The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs) |
| title_full | The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs) |
| title_fullStr | The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs) |
| title_full_unstemmed | The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs) |
| title_short | The question of thermoelectric devices (TEDs) in/efficiency—a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers (TECs) |
| title_sort | question of thermoelectric devices teds in efficiency a practical examination considering thermoelectric coolers tecs |
| topic | Thermoelectrics (TE) Thermoelectric devices (TEDs) Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) TE modules (TEMs) Thermoelectric cooling system TECs in/efficiency |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S259012302400080X |
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