Thermoelectric building temperature control: a potential assessment

  • This study focuses on thermoelectric elements (TEE) as an alternative for room temperature control. TEE are semi-conductor devices that can provide heating and cooling via a heat pump effect without direct noise emissions and no refrigerant use. An efficiency evaluation of the optimal operating mode is carried out for different numbers of TEE, ambient temperatures, and heating loads. The influence of an additional heat recovery unit on system efficiency and an unevenly distributed heating demand are examined. The results show that TEE can provide heat at a coefficient of performance (COP) greater than one especially for small heating demands and high ambient temperatures. The efficiency increases with the number of elements in the system and is subject to economies of scale. The best COP exceeds six at optimal operating conditions. An additional heat recovery unit proves beneficial for low ambient temperatures and systems with few TEE. It makes COPs above one possible at ambient temperatures below 0 ∘C. The effect increases efficiency by maximal 0.81 (from 1.90 to 2.71) at ambient temperature 5 K below room temperature and heating demand Q˙h=100W but is subject to diseconomies of scale. Thermoelectric technology is a valuable option for electricity-based heat supply and can provide cooling and ventilation functions. A careful system design as well as an additional heat recovery unit significantly benefits the performance. This makes TEE superior to direct current heating systems and competitive to heat pumps for small scale applications with focus on avoiding noise and harmful refrigerants.

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Metadaten
Author:Markus Hagenkamp, Tobias BlankeORCiD, Bernd Döring
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-021-00424-x
Parent Title (English):International Journal of Energy and Environmental Engineering
Publisher:Springer
Place of publication:Berlin
Document Type:Article
Language:English
Year of Completion:2021
Volume:13
First Page:241
Last Page:254
Note:
Corresponding author: Markus Hagenkamp
Link:https://doi.org/10.1007/s40095-021-00424-x
Zugriffsart:weltweit
Institutes:FH Aachen / Fachbereich Bauingenieurwesen
FH Aachen / Solar-Institut Jülich
open_access (DINI-Set):open_access
collections:Verlag / Springer
Open Access / Hybrid
Geförderte OA-Publikationen / DEAL Springer
Licence (German): Creative Commons - Namensnennung