Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317

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Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene

A comprehensive exergy analysis of a prototype Peltier air-cooler;

experimental investigation
Hamed Sadighi Dizaji*, Samad Jafarmadar, Shahram Khalilarya, Samira Pourhedayat
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Urmia University, Urmia, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Thermoelectric coolers have been abundantly investigated from the viewpoint of the first law of ther-
Received 11 February 2018 modynamic. However, extremely few exergy analysis have been probed for thermoelectric air-coolers.
Received in revised form Because of the importance of exergy consideration in each thermodynamic process, this paper experi-
9 July 2018
mentally focuses on the effect of various parameters on exergy destruction and the second law perfor-
Accepted 12 July 2018
mance through a thermoelectric air cooler. The effects of flow and thermodynamic parameters including
Available online 17 July 2018
air flow rate, incoming air temperature, water flow rate, incoming water temperature, DC voltage/
ampere etc. on exergetic characteristics are clarified in this study. Interesting meaningful curve behavior
Keywords:
Thermoelectric
was observed for exergetic performance of thermoelectric cooler. Indeed, curve behavior of exergetic
Cooling performance is descending-ascending and therefore a critical value of DC voltage was found in which the
Coefficient of performance amount of second law performance has a minimum/maximum value. Increment of air flow rate
Air cooler improved the exergetic performance of Peltier-air cooler. Besides, higher air inlet temperature reduced
Peltier exergy destruction of thermoelectric module (TEM) which means that Peltier air cooler is appropriate for
regions with warmer weather in comparison with moderate climates.
© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction exergetic feature of the cooling application of thermoelectric are

Most recently, researchers would like to produce thermoelectric
technology as a novel cooling method because of its inevitable
advantages in comparison with compression refrigeration systems.
Lack of compressor, refrigerator, moving parts and so on can be
considered as the most important advantages of thermoelectric
cooling technique. Thus, researchers enthusiastically try to enhance
the coefficient of performance (COP) of thermoelectric coolers.
Performance improvement methods of thermoelectric module
(TEM) can be classified into two main parts. The first part is related
to the materials by which the n/p type conductors of thermoelectric
are made. All other effective parameters including heat sinks, flow
and thermodynamic conditions etc. are arranged in the second
part. However, most researchers have evaluated the TEM effec-
tiveness from the view point of the first law of thermodynamic
only. Although, Seebeck coefficient and figure of merit ZT are meant
to quantify the entropy production and transport, studies on the
* Corresponding author.
E-mail addresses: HamedSadighiDizaji@gmail.com, St_H.Sadighi@Urmia.ac.ir
(H. Sadighi Dizaji), S.jafarmadar@Urmia.ac.ir (S. Jafarmadar), Sh.Khalilarya@Urmia.
ac.ir (S. Khalilarya), Samira.Pourhedayat@gmail.com (S. Pourhedayat).
relatively immature comparing with that on energetic aspect.
Previous investigations of thermoelectric modules can be clas-
sified into two main parts. The major portion of former thermo-
electric studies has focused on power generation via thermoelectric
and a smaller percentage has focused on cooling/heating produc-
tion using thermoelectric module. Since the main aim of this paper
is cooling process of thermoelectric, the literature review focuses
on cooling application of thermoelectric and not power generation.
Mathiprakasam and Heenan [1] analytically evaluated the use of
thermoelectric as an automobile air conditioning system. The
required electrical power was provided via solar cells on the ceiling
of the car. Their results showed that, the required electrical power
for cooling capacity of 4 kW is around 9.5 kW. Maneewan et al. [2]
experimentally studied the cooling characteristics of a thermo-
electric cooler. Both hot and cold sides of TEM were connected to
heat-sink and fan. Three thermoelectric modules were used in their
experiments and optimum condition was observed at electrical
current of “1” ampere. Tipsaenporm et al. [3] tried to enhance the
performance of thermoelectric cooler via direct evaporative cooling
of hot side of TEM. Cooling performance of their system was ob-
tained between 72% and 81%. Its cooling capacity was enhanced
from 53 W to 74 W using the direct evaporative cooling. Andersent

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2018.07.056
0960-1481/© 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317
Nomenclature
qc
COP Coefficient of performance (Ex s
) Tw
Exd Exergy destruction, W
Exi Exergy input to the system, W
Exo Exergy output of the system, W
Exs Input electrical power, W
I Electrical current, A
Imax Data sheet parameter. The current that provides a
temperature difference of DTmax under a specific Th
and heat fluxqc ¼ 0, A
Km Thermal conductivity of TEC, W/mK
N Number of couples
qc Cooling power of TEM, W
qh Heating power of TEM, W
Rm Electrical resistance of TEC, U
T Temperature, K
Th Temperature of the hot side of the TEM, K
[4] designed and studied a thermoelectric air conditioning system
for submarines. Alomair et al. [5] analytically and experimentally
investigated the solar thermoelectric air cooler. Maximum COP was
achieved around 1.7 at 1 A and also increment of electrical current
reduced the amount of COP. Chang [6] analyzed the thermal pa-
rameters of a thermoelectric air cooler. The hot side of their ther-
moelectric was cooled by a fan too. The effects of electrical current
and thermal power applied to cold side were studied. According to
their findings, there is an optimum electrical current in which the
maximum cooling power of cooler is achieved. Indeed, both lower
and higher electrical current decrease the cooling power of TEM.
Gillott et al. [7] analytically evaluated the cooling behavior of a
small-scale thermoelectric cooler. Thermoelectric was assumed
between two aluminum heat-sinks. Similar to other studies, cool-
ing capacity and COP was increased and decreased respectively
with increment of electrical current. Liu et al. [8] presented the
heating/cooling characteristics of a thermoelectric air cooler which
was designed for production of both cold air and warm water. Heat
generated form the hot side of TEM was transformed into a water
flow via some helical tubes. It was revealed that, if this system is
appropriately adjusted, it can provide required warm water
without reduction of its cooling capacity. The value of cooling COP
and heating COP were obtained 2.59 and 3.01 when the system was
used as a source of water heat pipe. They believed that, this system
can be considered as an environmentally friend device which can
produce both cold air and warm water. In the second part of that
study, it was tried to use the solar call in order to provide required
electrical power for their system. Miranda et al. [9] proposed the
use of thermoelectric as an air cooler for electrical automobiles.
They believed that, compressor-based cooling systems is not suit-
able for electrical cars from the view point of economic condition
and thermal performance so that they increase the production cost
and reduce the quality of electrical automobiles. Hence, they
considered the thermoelectric as a promising method for air cool-
ing process of such cars. Obviously, the required electrical power of
these coolers should be produced by solar cells or other sources.
Consier et al. [10], numerically and experimentally probed the
production of hot and cold air by TEM. They used four thermo-
electric modules. The hot side of the system was adjusted by a
water heat exchanger. They showed that, TEM can be used as the
heating/cooling unit with acceptable COP. Riffat and Qiu [11]
designed and analyzed a cylindrical heat-sink for thermoelectric air
coolers. They believe that the TEM air coolers have many
309
Tc Temperature of the cold side of the TEM, K
To Surrounding temperature, K
Water inlet temperature, K
TEC Thermoelectric cooler
TEM Thermoelectric module
V Voltage, V
Vmax Data sheet parameter. The voltage drop across the
TECs' terminals, corresponding to current Imax and
the temperature difference DTmax , V
Greece symbols
hEx Second law performance
am Seebeck coefficient (V/K) of TEC
DT Temperature difference, K
DTmax Data sheet parameter. The largest temperature
differential that can be obtained between the hot and
cold ceramic plates of a TEC for the given level of Th
and qc ¼ 0, K
advantages. However, lower values of COP have been caused
reduction of their application. Two main effective parameters on
COP of TEM are thermoelectric material and optimum heat-sink.
Astrain et al. [12] tried to improve the COP of thermoelectric
refrigerator by optimizing the heat dissipation of hot side of TEM.
They improved the thermal resistance of the used heat-sink up to
36%. Simultaneous use of thermosiphon and phase-change
enhanced the COP of the system up to 23%. Manoj and Walke [13]
investigated the employment of TEM as an automobile air cooler.
Said study focused on India in which replacement of other type of
air cooler with CFC-based coolers are necessary [13]. Sadighi Dizaji
et al. [14] experimentally investigated the effect of thermal-fluid
parameters on a prototype air cooler. Dia et al. [15] presented
new configurations of transcritical CO2 refrigeration cycle com-
bined with a thermoelectric sub-cooler and an expander. Irshad
et al. [16] experimentally and numerically evaluated a novel ther-
moelectric air duct system which works based on photovoltaic
under Malaysian weather condition. Shen et al. [17] carried out a
parametric study of thermoelectric radiant cooling and heating
panel. Zhu and Yu [18] optimized the rectangular heat-sink of
thermoelectric from the view point of the second law of thermo-
dynamic. As described before, the literature review of this research
has focused on cooling production by TEM not power generation.
However, the main selected studies which have focused on power
generation by TEM can be found in Refs. [19e42].
According to above literature review, studies on the cooling
application of thermoelectric from the viewpoint of the second law
of thermodynamic are relatively immature comparing with that on
first law of thermodynamic. Particularly, extremely few experi-
mental exergetic analysis of thermoelectric air coolers have been
carried out. Thus, in this experimental study, the effects of flow and
thermodynamic parameters on exergetic characteristics of a ther-
moelectric air cooler are clarified. All tested parameters have been
varied and recorded in a logical range via high accurate instruments
as described in the following.
2. Experiments
2.1. Experimental set-up and test section
A general view of the experimental set-up is shown in Fig. 1. Six
standard commercial thermoelectric modules were used in this
study. Air fluid was flowed into the cold side of TEM and water flow
310 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317

Fig. 1. Experimental set-up, a) photograph representation and b) overall graphical view.

was flowed along the hot side of TEM. Water flow and air flow were Table 1
injected via a water pump and an air fan respectively. Water flow Accuracy/resolution of each measuring device and uncertainty of parameters.

comes back into the water tank after passing through a radiator. Accuracy/resolution of measuring devices
Rectangular heat-sinks were glued on both hot and cold sides of Device name Device type Accuracy Resolution Uncertainty
TEM. Water flow rate was adjusted via some valves and rota-
12-Channel thermometer MTM-4208 0.5 C 0.1 C -
meters. The body of test section was made from Plexiglas (poly
4-channel thermometer TM-947SD 0.5 C 0.1 C -
methyl methacrylate) and it was completely insulated along ex- Hot wire anemometer YK-2004AH ±5% 0.1 m/s -
periments using elastomeric insulation sheet with approximate Humidity meter YK-90HT ±3% 0.01% -
thickness of 1.5 cm. Water inlet/outlet temperatures and surface Flow-meter rota-meter 0.5 l/min 0.5 l/min -
Maximum uncertainty of parameters
temperatures of all 6 thermoelectric modules were measured by K-
Exd e e e 6.1%
type thermocouples and recorded by a 12-channel and a 4-channel hEx e e e 7.4%
data logger (Lutron BTM-4208 and TM-947SD). Air flow rate and its
inlet temperature were recorded via hot wire mechanism (Lutron
YK-2004AH). Air outlet temperature and its humidity were recor-
ded by Lutron YK-90HT humidity meter. All measuring instruments to measure the surface temperatures can be seen in side view of
are calibrated-digital-high-accurate devises and their accuracy and Fig. 2. The length, width and height of heat sink, number of fins and
resolution can be shown in Table 1. Moreover, Table 1 shows the their thickness are 30 cm, 45 mm, 40 mm, 5 and 2 mm respectively
maximum probable uncertainty of parameters evaluated by Kling (see Fig. 2). All six thermoelectric modules are (40  40 mm) and
[43] method (as used before by Refs. [44e48]). The uncertainty of were arranged consequently between aforesaid heat-sinks. As
parameters can be due to the measuring instrument, environment shown in Fig. 3, from the view point of electricity, they jointed
condition, operator and other sources. Amount of air flow rate was pairwise series and then parallel (three pairwise series which
adjusted by a dimmer (controller of fan speed) and its temperature jointed to each other in parallel). The electrical arrangement de-
was increased via electric heater and was adjusted by another pends on the supported range of voltage and ampere which can be
dimmer. DC voltage was supplied by a DC supplier. All data were supplied by DC supplier. A view of dimmer is presented in Fig. 4.
transferred into a computer. The detail of test section can be seen in Besides, specifications of the used thermoelectric are illustrated in
Fig. 2 from different aspects. The location of K-type thermocouples Table 2.
 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317 311

Fig. 2. View of test section. a) general view, b) side view and c) bottom view.

2.2. Experiments procedure
The effect of air flow rate, DC voltage/ampere, incoming air
temperature, water flow rate, incoming water temperature on
exergetic parameters are studied in this research. Hence,
experiments procedures are summarized in Table 3 in three main
parts (modes). In the first mode, the effects of DC voltage and air
flow rate are evaluated while the other parameters are constant. In
the second mode, the effects of incoming air temperature on
exergetic characteristics are investigated. And finally, in the third
312 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317

fluid condition of the air/water flows and subsequently influence

the exergetic parameters of the cooler.

dEx
Exi  Exo  Exd ¼ (1)
dt

where Exi is exergy input to the control volume, Exo is exergy

output of the control volume and Exd is exergy destroyed in the
process.
The right hand of Eq. (1) is zero at steady state condition. Hence:

Exi  Exo  Exd ¼ 0 (2)

And then, the correlation of each term of exergy can be replaced.



To To
qc 1  þ Exs  qh 1  Exd ¼ 0 (3)
Tc Th
Where Exs is the electrical power, To is surrounding tempera-
ture, Tc and Th are the average values of thermoelectric cold side
and hot side temperatures and are calculated as shown below.
P6
i¼1 Tci
Tc ¼ (4)
6
P6
i¼1 Thi
Fig. 3. Electrical arrangements of 6 thermoelectric modules.
Th ¼ (5)
6
Besides, qc and qh are total cooling capacity and total heating
capacity of all six thermoelectric modules and is evaluated from Eq.
(6) and Eq. (7).

X
6
qc ¼ qci (6)
i¼1

X
6
qh ¼ qhi (7)
i¼1

It should be noted that, qci and qhi are related to each single
thermoelectric and for each thermoelectric are calculated from Eq.
(8 &9).

1
qci ¼ am ITci  Rm I2i  Km ðThi  Tci Þ (8)
2

1
qhi ¼ am IThi þ Rm I2i  Km ðThi  Tci Þ (9)
2
Fig. 4. Dimer (controller of air fan speed and electrical heater power).

Table 2
Specifications of TEC1-12706.

Type Couples N Imax (A) Vmax (V) qmax (W) DTmax (K) Reference temperature at hot-end (K)

TEC1-12706 127 6 15.2 56.5 68 300

mode, the effects of water flow rate and incoming water temper-
ature are clarified. The amounts of each parameter are presented in
Table 3.
2.3. Calculation method
By considering all thermoelectric modules (six TEM) as a control
volume, general exergy balance can be written as shown below. It is
noted that, the surface temperatures of TEM is affected by thermal-
where am, Rm and Km are Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistance
and thermal conductivity of TEM all of which can be evaluated
using the information of the used TEM found in the datasheet
(Table 2) of product (the calculation method is available in
Ref. [14]). All Ti are directly measured through the experiments. Ii is
electrical current of each TEM and is evaluated from the total I
(according to TEMs electrical arrangements) which is recorded
from DC supplier. Thus, term of exergy destruction is evaluated
from:
 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317 313

Table 3
Range of variable parameters.

Air flow rate (l/min) Total DC voltage (V) Incoming air temperature (oC) Water flow rate (l/min) Incoming water temperature (oC)

Mode1: Effect of DC voltage and air flow rate

300 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28 35 1 31
700 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28 35 1 31
950 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28 35 1 31
1300 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28 35 1 31
1600 4, 7, 10, 13, 16, 19, 22, 25, 28 35 1 31
Mode2: Effect of incoming air temperature
300 28 30, 35, 45, 50, 55 1 31
1600 28 30, 35, 45, 50, 55 1 31
Mode3: Effect of water flow rate and its inlet temperature
1600 28 35 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 22
1600 28 35 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 30
1600 28 35 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 37
1600 28 35 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 43



To To
Exd ¼ qc 1 þ Exs  qh 1
Tc Th
Exs is the electrical power and according to energy balance,
Exs ¼ qh  qc and Eq. (10) can be rewritten as follow:


qh q
Exd ¼ To  c
Th Tc
Moreover, the second law performance for thermoelectric air
cooler based on exergy destruction is calculated from Eq. (12).
Exd Exs  Exd
hEx ¼ 1  ¼ (12)
Exs Exs
It is noted that, for larger systems in which more number of TEM
is employed, it is better not to use an average surface temperature
(Eqs. (4) and (5)). Indeed, for larger scales, Eq. (3) and subsequently
Eq. (11) can be employed separately for each TEM and the results
are summed as the behavior of whole system. However, for this
system, both methods yield the same results.
3. Results and discussions
3.1. The effect of DC voltage and air flow rate (mode 1)
In this section, DC voltage and air flow rate are variant param-
eters. All other parameters are kept constant according to Table 3.
The effect of total DC voltage and air flow rate (liter per minute) on
exergy destruction (Exd ) and second law performance (hEx ) are
presented in Fig. 5. Increment of DC voltage causes increment of
exergy destruction which is logical. Indeed, augmentation of DC
voltage causes enhancement of temperature difference between
two sides of thermoelectric which is the reason of exergy
destruction. On the other hand, finite temperature difference is one
of the main reasons of exergy destruction. Although the effect of air
flow rate is minor (compared to the DC voltage), increment of air
flow rate reduces the value of exergy destruction. However, it does
not mean that the air flow rate has minor effect on qc or qh too. In a
constant DC voltage, enhancement of air flow rate increases the
amount of both qc and qh (see for instance Fig. 6 (a) for qc ) while
the differences between qc and qh is almost constant for a defined
DC voltage (because qh  qc ¼ Exs ). For lower amount of DC voltage
(less than 5 V), the effect of air flow rate on exergy destruction is
almost zero.
Contrary to exergy destruction which is ascending, the curves of
exergetic performance show a descending-ascending behavior. This
trend does not change for different amounts of air flow rate.
However, increment of air flow rate raises the location of curve into
(10)
an upper level. In other words, higher values of air flow rate im-
proves the exergetic performance of air cooler.
Curve behavior of Exd and Exs should be considered simulta-
neously in order to clarify the behavior reason of exergetic per-
formance. To that reason, variation of Exs with total voltage is
(11) presented in addition to Exd in Fig. 6(b). This figure can obviously
explain the curves behavior in Fig. 5 (b). This figure can obviously
explain the curves behavior in Fig. 5 (b). According to Fig. 6(b)
which is illustrated in logarithmic scale in Fig. 3(c) as well
(including error bar of exergy destruction), the difference between
Exs and Exd (numerator of Eq. (12)) is closer to each other between
4 V and 10 V. After 10 V, the enhancement-slope of Exs is severer
than the enhancement-slope of Exd . And this phenomenon ex-
plains why Fig. 5(b) has a descending-ascending behavior. It should
be noted that, Exs (electrical power V  I) is an intrinsic charac-
teristics of thermoelectric and it mostly depends on material
structure of thermoelectric. It is interesting to consider the voltage
percentage of each single thermoelectric too. According to Fig. 3,
the portion of DC voltage of each thermoelectric is a half of total
supplied voltage. Thus, it can be said that, the minimum point of
exergetic performance is occurred around the voltage of 6 in this
type of thermoelectric. However, it is not completely clear why this
type of TEM has such behavior around 6 V. The importance of this
phenomenon is increased when we show a peak point for curves of
COP
COPmax (first law performance) too at the same value of DC voltage in
Sadighi Dizaji et al. [14] (Fig. 11 in that paper). However, this the-
orem should be investigated as an independent material topic to
exactly clarify the reason of this behavior around the DC voltage of
6 V.
3.2. The effect of incoming air temperature (mode 2)
In this section, total DC voltage, incoming water temperature
and its flow rate were kept at 28 V, 31  C and 1 l/min respectively
and incoming air temperature was changed between 25  C and
60  C for two different values of air flow rates (see Table 1). The
effect of air inlet temperature on exergy destruction and exergetic
performance are presented in Fig. 7. According to Fig. 7, increment of
air inlet temperature reduces exergy destruction which means that
the Peltier air cooler is appropriate for hot weather from the view
point of second law of thermodynamic. Moreover, higher air tem-
perature provides improved amounts of exergetic performance too.
Difference of Exd due to air flow rate is clear in Fig. 7(a) as well.
Augmentation of air flow rate has reduced exergy destruction. It
314 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317

Fig. 5. The effect of DC voltage and air flow rate on a) exergy destruction and b)second law performance.

Fig. 6. a) Variation of qc with air flow rate and DC voltage b) simultaneous comparison of Exs and Exd in 1600 l/min and c) logarithmic scale of “b”.
 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317 315

Fig. 7. Effect of air inlet temperature on a) Exd and b) hEx .

should be noted that, higher air inlet temperature causes higher Tc

(cold side temperature of TEM). As has been described in Sadighi
Dizaji et al. [14], all percentage of qc is not transferred to air fluid.
Indeed, a portion of qc is conveyed to air fluid (which is termed qa
and is calculated from m _ air c ðTair;out  Tair;in Þ and the rest of it re-
mains (stores) at heat sink and TEM surface. For further explanation,
imagine that the air fan is off and no air fluid is blown in to the
system. Obviously, all cooling capacity of TEM will be used to reduce
the temperature of heat-sink (stored). Once the air fan starts to
work, a fraction of the stored-cooling in the heat sink will be
transferred to the air fluid and the temperature of the heat sink
(cold surface temperature) will be increased (for example
from 10  C to 7  C) and a new steady-state condition is found. If
the air flow rate or air inlet temperature is increased, more amount
of said cooling capacity will be transferred to the air. However, if the
air flow rate is increased more and more, a critical value of air flow
rate will be observed after which the cooling capacity of TEM will
not be able to further reduce the air temperature. Thus, for a defined
DC voltage, higher air inlet temperature enhances the portion of qc
which is transferred to air fluid and consequently causes enhance-
ment of Tc (warmer cold surface). All this events reduces the amount
of (Th Tc ) which is the main reason of exergy destruction. Variation
of (Th Tc ) with air inlet temperature which has been measured
directly through the experiments is presented in Fig. 8 to ease un-
derstanding aforesaid phenomenon. Besides, as described above, Fig. 8. Variation of Th -Tc with air inlet temperature.
higher air flow rate increase the value of qa too. To that reason,
higher air flow rate provides higher (warmer) Tc as well which
shows lesser exergy destruction again. Curve behavior of exergetic
performance (Fig. 7(b)) is completely logical based on Eq. (12). It is lower flow rates (for a defined number of TEM and defined water
obvious that, Exs is almost constant (because of constant DC inlet temperature). However, obviously if the water flow rate is
voltage) in Fig. 6. Hence, reduction of Exd (in numerator of Eq. (12)) extra reduced (for example under 1 l/min) it may influence the
due to enhancement of air inlet temperature provides higher value exergy destruction and exergetic performance. However, exergy
of exergetic performance. It can be said that, exergy destruction is destruction and exergetic performance decreases and increases
the reason of performance reduction in this section. with enhancement of water inlet temperature. As can be seen in
Fig. 10, reduction of water inlet temperature increases both qc and
qh . Higher heat transfer rate for lower value of water inlet tem-
3.3. The effect of water flow rate and water inlet temperature perature can be considered as the reason of higher exergy
(mode 3) destruction for that low water inlet temperature (23  C). Obvi-
ously, as mentioned before, higher exergy destruction means
According to Fig. 9, it seems that water flow rate does not have lower exergetic performance which is clear in Fig. 9 (b). None-
significant effect on exergetic characteristics of thermoelectric theless, the influence of water characteristics on exergetic
cooler. It can be said that, since water is a dense fluid, its capacity characteristics is still minor compared to the other tested
on absorbing heat from the hot side of TEM is enough even at parameters.
316 H. Sadighi Dizaji et al. / Renewable Energy 131 (2019) 308e317

Fig. 9. The effect of water flow rate and water inlet temperature on exergetic characteristics.

Fig. 10. Effect of water inlet temperature on a) qc and b) qh .

4. Conclusion References

In present study, a Peltier air cooler was developed in order to
experimentally clarify the effects of DC voltage, electrical current, air
inlet temperature, air flow rate, water inlet temperature and water
flow rate on exergetic characteristics of thermoelectric air cooler.
Hot surface of thermoelectric was cooled via water fluid flow. Most
previous studies have evaluated the Peltier air cooler from the view
point of first law of thermodynamic and that is why this paper
focused on the second law of thermodynamic (exergetic analysis).
The effect of DC voltage on exergetic performance showed memo-
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amount of exergetic performance has minimum value. Exergetic
performance was found higher for warmer air inlet temperatures
which indicates its suitability for hot climate conditions from the
view point of the second law of thermodynamic. Furthermore,
increment of air flow rate improved its performance as well. Water
flow rate and inlet temperature did not show a significant effect on
exergetic characteristics for tested ranges.
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