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Review on Thermoelectric Refrigeration: Applications and Technology

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Review on Thermoelectric Refrigeration: Applications and Technology
Sagar D. Patil 1, Kiran D. Devade2
1
Student, Mechanical, Indira College of Engineering & Management, Pune,
2
Assistant Professor, Mechanical, Indira College of Engineering & Management, Pune,
Abstract— Refrigerator and air conditioners are the most energy consuming home appliances and for
this reason many researchers had performed work to enhance performance of the refrigeration systems.
Most of the research work done so far deals with an objective of low energy consumption and
refrigeration effect enhancement. Thermoelectric refrigeration is one of the techniques used for
producing refrigeration effect. Thermoelectric devices are developed based on Peltier and Seebeck
effect which has experienced a major advances and developments in recent years. The coefficient of
performance of the thermoelectric refrigeration is less when it is used alone, hence thermoelectric
refrigeration is often used with other methods of refrigeration. This paper presents a review of some
work been done on the thermoelectric refrigeration over the years. Some of the research and
development work carried out by different researchers on TER system has been thoroughly reviewed
in this paper. The study envelopes the various applications of TER system and development of devices.
This paper summarizes the advancement in thermoelectric refrigeration, thermoelectric materials,
design methodologies, application in domestic appliances and performance enhancement techniques
based on the literature.
Keywords- Thermoelectric module, Peltier effect, Figure of Merit, Device Design Parameter, Seebeck
coefficient, Coefficient of performance.

I. INTRODUCTION
Refrigeration means removal of heat from a substance or space in order to bring it to a temperature
lower than those of the natural surroundings. Thermoelectric cooling is a way to remove thermal
energy from a medium, device or component by applying a voltage of constant polarity to a junction
between dissimilar electrical conductors or semiconductors. Thermoelectric Refrigeration provides
cooling effect by using thermoelectric effect i.e. Peltier effect rather than the more prevalent
conventional methods like those using the ‘vapor compression cycle’ or the ‘gas compression cycle’.
[1]
Thermoelectric Refrigeration finds applications in electronic systems and computers to cool
sensitive components such as power amplifiers and microprocessors. TER can also be used in a satellite
or space application to control the extreme temperatures that occur in components on the sunlit side
and to warm the components on the dark side. In scientific applications like digital cameras and charge-
coupled devices (CCDs) TER is used to minimize thermal noise, thereby optimizing the sensitivity
and image contrast.
The coefficient of performance (COP) of compression refrigerators decreases with the decrease
in its capacity. Therefore, when it is necessary to design a low capacity refrigerator, TER is always
preferable. Also, better control over the space temperature is the major advantage of the TER. Hence,
TER is good option for food preservation applications & cooling of pharmaceutical products. [2]

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Nomenclature:
A Heat exchanger area [m2]
COP Coefficient of Performance
DC Direct Current
h Heat transfer coefficient [Wm-2K-1]
I Current [A]
K Conduction heat transfer coefficient [Wm-1K-1]
P Input power [W]
Q Rate of heat transfer [W]
R Total electrical resistance [Ω]
S Cycle irreversibility parameter
T Absolute temperature [0C]
TER Thermoelectric Refrigeration
V Voltage [V]
VCR Vapour Compression Refrigeration
X Device-design parameter
Z Figure of merit [1/K]
Subscripts
C Cold junction side
H Hot junction side
L Heat Source
W Heat sink
Greek Letters
α Seebeck coefficient [VK-1]
β Ratio of h H A H to h L A L
τ Ratio of TL to TH
ψ Ratio of TL to TW
𝜙 Dimensionless refrigeration effect

A. History
Thermoelectricity was discovered and developed in 1820-1920 in Western Europe, with much
of work centered in Berlin. The first important discovery related to thermoelectricity occurred in 1823.
German scientist Thomas Seebeck [3] found that a circuit made from two dissimilar metals and
junctions of the same kept at two different temperatures, produces thermoelectric force which is
responsible for flow of the current through module. Now this invention is known as Seebeck effect.
[3]
In 1834, a French watchmaker and physicist, Jean Charles Athanase Peltier [4] invented
thermoelectric cooling effect also known as Peltier effect. Peltier stated that electric current flows
through two dissimilar metals would produce heating and cooling at the junctions. [4]
The true nature of Peltier effect was made clear by Emil Lenz [5] in 1838, Lenz demonstrated
that water could be frozen when placed on a bismuth-antimony junction by passage of an electric
current through the junction. He also observed that if the current was reversed the ice could be melted.
In 1909 and 1911 Altenkirch [6] give the basic theory of thermoelectric. His work explained that
thermoelectric cooling materials needed to have high Seebeck coefficients, good electrical
conductivity to minimize Joule heating, and low thermal conductivity to reduce heat transfer from
junctions to junctions. In 1949 Loffe [7] developed theory of semiconductors thermo-elements and in
1954 Goldsmid [8] and Douglas [8] demonstrated that cooling from ordinary ambient temperatures

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down to below 0°C was possible. Rowe, [9] shortly after the development of practical semiconductors
in 1950's, Bismuth Telluride began to be the primary material used in the thermoelectric cooling. [10]

II. MATERIAL REVIEW

Thermoelectric module is made of two different semiconducting materials, which generate
thermoelectric cooling effect (Peltier effect) when a voltage of similar polarity & in appropriate
direction applied through the connected junction. Two heat sinks & fans are attached to hot and cold
sides of thermoelectric module in order to enhance heat transfer and system performance. There exists
an optimum current & optimum voltage for maximum coefficient of performance (COP) for a specific
module and fixed hot/cold side temperatures.
𝛼2
According to the primary criterion of figure of merit (𝑍 = 𝑅𝐾), a good thermoelectric material
should have high Seebeck coefficient, high electrical conductivity, and low thermal conductivity.
Commonly used thermoelectric materials are Bismuth Telluride (Bi2Te3), Lead Telluride (PbTe),
Silicon Germanium (SiGe) and Cobalt Antimony (CoSb3), among which Bi2Te3 is the most commonly
used one. These materials usually process a ZT value (figure of merit at temperature) less than one.
From 1960s to 1990s, developments in materials in the view of increasing ZT value was modest, but
after the mid-1990s, by using nano structural engineering thermoelectric material efficiency is greatly
improved. Thermoelectric materials such as primary bulk thermoelectric materials like
skutterudites, clathrates and half-Heusler alloys, which are principally produced through doping
method are developed but not exploited for commercial use. [11]
The best commercial thermoelectric materials currently have ZT values around 1.0. The highest
ZT value in research is about 3. Other best reported thermoelectric materials have figure-of-merit
values of 1.2-2.2 at temperature range of 320-5200C. It is estimated that thermoelectric coolers with
ZT value of 1.0 operate at only 10% of Carnot efficiency. Some 30% of Carnot efficiency could be
reached by a device with a ZT value of 4. However, increasing ZT to 4 has remained a formidable
challenge. Bell also mentioned that if the average ZT reaches 2, domestic and commercial solid-state
heating, ventilating and air-cooling systems using thermoelectric material would become practical.
[11]
Figure 1 [12]shows the ZT characteristics of common thermoelectric materials.

Figure 1 ZT Characteristics of diiferent TE Materials

III. DESIGN CONSIDERATION FOR TER

A system design method of thermoelectric cooler is developed in the present study. The design
calculation utilizes the performance curve of the thermoelectric module that is determined
experimentally. An automatic test apparatus was designed and built to illustrate the testing method.
The performance test results of the module are used to determine the physical properties and derive an

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empirical relation for the performance of thermoelectric module. The thermal resistance of heat sink
is chosen as one of the key parameters in the design of a thermoelectric cooler. An optimal design of
thermoelectric cooler at the conditions of optimal COP is also studied. The optimal design can be made
either on the basis of the maximum value of the optimal cooling capacity, or on the basis of the best
heat sink technology available. [13]

Methodology
The theoretical equations for the thermoelectric module performance include:
The voltage equation,
𝑉 = 𝛼(𝑇𝐻 − 𝑇𝐿 ) + 𝐼𝑅 (1)

The input power equation,

𝑃 = 𝛼𝐼(𝑇𝐻 − 𝑇𝐿 ) + 𝐼 2 𝑅 (2)
The cooling capacity equation,
𝑄̇𝐿 = 𝐼𝛼𝑇𝐶 − 𝐾(𝑇𝐻 − 𝑇𝐿 ) − 0.5𝐼 2 𝑅 (3)

The total heat rejection equation,

𝑄̇𝐻 = 𝐼𝛼𝑇𝑊 − 𝐾(𝑇𝐻 − 𝑇𝐿 ) + 0.5𝐼 2 𝑅 (4)

And COP is given by,

𝑄
𝐶𝑂𝑃 = 𝑃𝐿 (5)
An important physical property for the thermoelectric module is the figure of merit Z which is given
by,
𝛼2
𝑍 = 𝑅𝐾 (6)

The thermoelectric cooler can be designed at maximum COP or at maximum cooling capacity.
In many applications, the thermal efficiency is more important. Thus, the design based on the
maximum COP is adopted in the present study. [13]
Goktun [14] showed that heat transfer at a finite rate and electrical resistive losses are
necessarily irreversible processes and unavoidable in a thermoelectric device. It is shown that the
internal and external irreversibility in a thermoelectric refrigerator may be characterized by a single
parameter, named the device-design parameter. The presence of this parameter in the equations for the
refrigeration effect and the maximum input power shows that a real refrigerator has a smaller cooling
capacity and needs more input power than an ideal refrigerator. [14]
The thermoelectric refrigerator circuit is shown in Figure 2 [14] for steady state conditions, the
heat flow rate from the low temperature reservoir at TL to the cold junction at Tc can be written as:
𝑄̇𝐿 = ℎ𝐿 𝐴𝐿 (𝑇𝐿 − 𝑇𝐶 ) (7)
Similarly, on the high temperature side, the heat flow rate is:
𝑄̇𝐻 = ℎ𝐻 𝐴𝐻 (𝑇𝑊 − 𝑇𝐻 ) (8)

Where h is the heat transfer coefficient, A is the heat exchanger surface area; Tw and TH is the hot
junction and sink temperatures respectively. Assuming all material properties, including the Seebeck
coefficient (α), of the thermoelectric element is independent of temperature. A one-dimensional heat
conduction analysis in the direction of current (I) flow yields the net rates of heat input and heat
rejection as:
From the first law of thermodynamics, the input power 𝑃̇ is:
𝑃̇ = 𝑄̇𝐻 − 𝑄̇𝐿 = 𝐼𝛼(𝑇𝑊 − 𝑇𝐶 ) + 𝐼 2 𝑅 (9)

According to second law,

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𝑄̇𝐻 𝑄̇
= 𝑆 (𝑇 𝐿 ) 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑆 < 1 (10)
𝑇𝑊 𝐶

Substituting equations (7) & (8) into (10), S becomes,

𝛽(𝑇𝑊 −𝑇𝐻 )𝑇𝐶

𝑆= (𝑇𝐿 −𝑇𝐶 )𝑇𝑊
(11)

Figure 2 A Thermoelectric Refrigerator

Using equation (9) and dimensionless temperature ratio specified above, the cold junction ratio can be
written as:

𝑇𝐶 = 𝑋𝑇𝑊 (12)
Where,

𝑆𝜓
𝑋= 𝜓 with 𝜓 < 𝑋 < 1 (13)
𝑆+𝛽(1− )
𝜏

Prime requirement of a TER is the optimum refrigeration effect, therefore optimizing 𝑄̇𝐿 with respect
to I yields:
𝛼𝑇𝑊 𝑋
(𝐼)𝑜𝑝𝑡 = (14)
𝑅

(𝑄𝐿 )𝑜𝑝𝑡 2(𝑇𝐻 −𝑇𝐿 )

𝜙= = 𝑋2 + (15)
(𝛼𝑇𝑊 2 )/2𝑅 (𝑍𝑇𝑊 2 )

𝑊̇
𝑃𝑚𝑎𝑥 = (𝛼𝑇 2
= 2𝑋 (16)
𝑊 ) /2𝑅

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 For β=0 and S=1, X approaches to ψ, then equation (15) reduces to the maximum refrigeration
effect of TE refrigerator.
 Thermoelectric devices can be characterized by single parameter X, named device-design
parameter.
 This parameter appears in both the equation for optimum refrigeration effect and maximum
input power.
 In order to get high values of X, S must be decreased for the values of β within the range of
interest.
 In order to get better the refrigeration effect, X must be increased. [14]

IV. DEVELOPMENT OF TE DEVICES

A. Thermoelectric Cooler
The thermoelectric cooler is a cooling device based on TER principle which has been widely used in
military, aerospace, instrument, and industrial or commercial products, as a cooling device for specific
purposes. The schematic of the thermoelectric cooler is shown in Figure 3 [13]. Huang et.al. [13]
developed a system design method of TE cooler in their study which utilizes the performance curve of
the TE module.

Figure 3 Schematic of Thermoelectric Cooler

Jiajitsawat [15] investigated theoretically & experimentally the effect of combination of TER system
& DEAC system. For this he had fabricate a portable hybrid thermoelectric-direct evaporative air
cooling system and tested. The schematic of the prototype is shown in Figure 4. [15] The operating
principle of the prototype is the conversion of sensible heat of the hot air to the latent heat of water
vaporization. Installation of thermoelectric refrigeration system is to remove the sensible heat from the
water in the container for further improvement of the air cooling capacity.

Figure 4 The Combined TE-Direct Evaporative Air Cooler

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Experiment was carried out in three ways: Fan operation, Direct evaporative air cooling operation &
TER-DEAC operation. When DEAC system is in active, the cooling performance of the prototype
increases by 20% & is up to 30% with higher fan speed. The results of TE installation can improve the
cooling performance of the DEAC system by 10% and is up to 20% with higher fan speed. Therefore
the implementation of TE to DEAC seems to be reliable and possible for commercial application. [15]
B. Thermoelectric Refrigerator
TE modules are also used for constructing thermoelectric refrigerator. Although the COP of a TE
module is lower than that of conventional VCR system, efforts have been made to develop
thermoelectric domestic refrigerators to exploit the advantages associated with this solid-state energy-
conversion technology. The basic configuration of a thermoelectric refrigerator is shown schematically
in Figure 5. [16] It consists of a refrigerated cabinet, a Peltier module sandwiched by two heat
exchangers, a D.C. power supply and a temperature controller. Although the basic structure of a
thermoelectric refrigerator is essentially the same, their configurations may differ significantly
depending on the heat exchangers employed. [16]

Figure 5 Schematic of Thermoelectric Refrigerator

The thermoelectric refrigeration system is feasible for outdoor purpose in cooperation with solar cells.
Dai et.al [17] conducted experimental investigation & performance analysis on prototype of a
thermoelectric refrigerator driven by solar cells, which is mainly configured by the array of solar cells,
controller, storage battery, rectifier and thermoelectric refrigerator, is shown in Figure 6. [17]

Figure 6 Schematic of Solar Cells driven Thermoelectric Refrigerator

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In daytime, solar cells receive solar energy and turn it into electric power supplied to thermoelectric
refrigerator by means of photovoltaic effect. If the amount of electric power production is large
enough, the power surplus can be accumulated in storage battery besides driving the refrigerator. If
the solar cells cannot produce enough electric power, for example, in cloudy or rainy days, the storage
battery may offer a makeup. [17]
Experimental results shows that the performance of solar cells driven thermoelectric refrigerator is
strongly dependent on the intensity of solar insulation and the temperature difference of hot and cold
sides between the thermoelectric module, etc. The studied refrigerator can maintain the temperature in
refrigerated space at 5-100C, and has a COP about 0.3 under given conditions. [17]
C. Heat exchanger for the cold side of TE module
Vian et.al [18] shows the development of a thermo-siphon with phase change (TSF) which improves
the thermal resistance of the heat exchanger of the hot side of the Peltier pellet by 36%, what produces
an increase in the COP of a domestic thermoelectric refrigerator of 26% at an ambient temperature of
200 C, and 36.5% at 300 C. Along this line, Riffat et.al [19] apply the thermo-siphon system, in a
thermoelectric heat pump system that works as cooling and heating mode.
The aim is to design and experimentally optimize a heat exchanger which improves the thermal
resistance between the cold side of a Peltier pellet and the refrigerated room by the application of the
principles of capillarity against gravity, phase change and thermo-siphon. A new device TPM
(thermos-siphon porous media) to interchange heat between the cold side of a Peltier pellet and the
inner room of a thermoelectric refrigerator has been designed and built. [18]

Figure 7 [18]shows the heat exchanger for the cold side of the TE module.

Figure 7 TPM & TSF

V. COP IMPROVEMENT
Due to the fact that TE modules have very low value of COP, many researchers have taken
efforts with prime objective of COP improvement. With this objective they have developed TE
modules, used different modeling approaches and so on.
A. Optimization of heat dissipation
In this context, D. Astrain et al. [20] developed one device that dissipates heat from hot side of Peltier
module. This device works on the principle of thermo-siphon with the phase change. Two
thermoelectric domestic refrigerators are used for the experimentation, one of them with the device
developed and other with the conventional fins dissipater. It is proved with the help of experiments
that the use of thermo-siphon with phase change increases the COP up to 32%. It has been proved in

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that for each Celsius degree that we achieve to decrease the temperature drop between the hot side of
Peltier and the ambience, we manage to increase the COP of a thermoelectric refrigerator in more than
a 2.3%.That is exactly the focus of study: the optimization of heat dissipation from the hot side of the
Peltier pellet, in order to increase the COP of the thermoelectric refrigerators. [20]
With the aim of succeeding in spreading uniformly the heat flow through the whole base of the fin
dissipater, They have designed a ‘‘TSF’’ device based on thermo-siphon and phase change, which
provides a minor thermal resistance and in consequence a minor temperature drop between the hot side
of the Peltier pellet and the ambience, which will result in an increase of the COP of the thermoelectric
refrigerator. [20]
B. Increment in effectiveness of heat exchangers
The results of the work carried out by Min et al. [21] Showed that an increase in COP of the
thermoelectric domestic-refrigerator is possible through improvements in module contact resistances,
thermal interfaces and the effectiveness of heat exchangers. A number of prototype thermoelectric
refrigerators are investigated and their cooling performances evaluated in terms of the coefficient-of-
performance, heat-pumping capacity and cooling-down rate.

Min et al. [21] Studied following 3 prototypes for COP improvement:

TER-1 (Heat exchangers with forced convection)
TER-2 (Forced convection at the cold side and liquid circulation at the hot side)
TER-3 (Liquid circulation heat-exchangers)
This study of the exchangers for the TE module is taken further by again Vian et al [18] by
developing HEX for the Cold side of the TE Module. The objective is to design and experimentally
optimize a heat exchanger which improves the thermal resistance between the cold side of a Peltier
pellet and the refrigerated room by the application of the principles of capillarity against gravity, phase
change and thermo-siphon. Their study envelopes the development of a thermo-siphon with phase
change (TSF) which improves the thermal resistance of the heat exchanger of the hot side of the Peltier
pellet by 36% as elaborated above. During this research they have developed a thermo-siphon with
phase change and capillary action (TPM) for the cold side of the Peltier pellet which allows decreasing
the thermal resistance and, as a consequence, to improve the COP of thermoelectric refrigerators. [18]

VI. COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

It is necessary to provide a comparative analysis of thermoelectric refrigeration system at this
stage with the other parameters. The aim of this study is to provide an information to the researchers
to select appropriate refrigeration system suitable for the application. Hence one should compare TER
system on various parameters with the other refrigeration systems.
In a commercial point of view, Riffat et al. [19] Compares TER system with Vapor
compression and absorption system, as these two systems are mainly used commercially in the market.
This study compares the performance of three types of domestic air conditioning systems and presents
methods of COP calculations. The study incudes distinct description of three systems, performance
contrast among them, economic analysis and COP analysis & comparison. The conclusions are
mentioned parameter wise in Table 1 & Graph 1.

Table 1 Comparison of Three types of Air Conditioners

Parameter VCAC AAC TER
Cooling/Heating Capacity Medium High Less
Electricity Consumption Medium Low High
Cop 2.6-3.0 0.6-0.7 0.38-0.45
Noise Level Noisy Noisy Quiet
Total Cost (Initial &Operating) Medium Lowest Highest

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10
9
8
7
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
Cooling/Heating Electricity Cop Noise Level Total Cost (Initial
Capacity Consumption &Operating)

VCAC AAC TER

Graph 1 Comparison of Three types of Air Conditioners

A. Effect of number of stages

The simplest mode of thermoelectric refrigeration is to use a single-stage thermoelectric device.
However, due to the performance limits of thermoelectric materials, a single-stage thermoelectric
refrigerator can only be operated over a small temperature range. If the temperature ratio between the
heat sink and the cooled space is large, a single-stage thermoelectric refrigerator will lose its
effectiveness. Thus, the application of two- or multi-stage combined thermoelectric refrigerators is an
important method of improving the performance of thermoelectric refrigerators.
Chen et al. [22] Compared the performance of single stage and two stage thermoelectric
refrigeration system. For this they established cycle model of single and two stage TER system and
derived general expressions of three important performance parameters such as COP, Rate of
refrigeration and power input.
It states maximum COP of two stage is larger than that of single stage but maximum rate of
refrigeration is smaller. In general, it is more convenient to use directly a single-stage thermoelectric
refrigeration system when the temperature ratio of the heat sink to the cooled space is small. However,
when the temperature ratio of the heat sink to the cooled space is larger, both the maximum COP and
the maximum rate of refrigeration of a two-stage thermoelectric refrigeration system are larger than
those of a single-stage thermoelectric refrigeration system. The study of Chen et al. [22] Provides some
theoretical bases for the optimal design and operation of a two-stage thermoelectric refrigeration
system. [22]
Karimi et al. [23] Analyzed and fabricated a new device with multistage or stack of single stage
TE module. Multi-stage thermoelectric coolers offer larger temperature differences between heat
source and heat sink than single or two stage thermoelectric coolers. In this study, a pyramid type
multi-stage cooler is analyzed, focusing on the importance of maximum attainable target heat flux and
overall COP. Having considered the COP and the thermal resistance of a heat sink as key parameters
in the design of a multi-stage thermoelectric cooler, analytical formulas for COP and heat sink thermal
resistance versus working electrical current are derived. The study concludes that multistage TER
system allows use of heat sink with higher thermal resistance which helps in improvement of COP.
[23]
VII. CONCLUSION
This paper reviews the developments in TER system over the years. This study on the
thermoelectric refrigeration emphasize that the TER system is a novel refrigeration system which will
be a better alternative for conventional refrigeration system. The research and development work
carried out by different researchers on TER system has been thoroughly reviewed in this paper. The

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study of this seminar spreads over the application of TER system and various technologies used with
the same. This seminar summarizes the advancement in thermoelectric refrigeration, thermoelectric
materials, recent modeling approaches, application in domestic appliances and various technologies.
This paper also concludes that, to achieve better COP & temperature control we can combine
TER with other refrigeration systems. For example combining VCR & TER systems reduces the
energy consumption, gives high COP & good temperature control within the refrigerated area. Hence
it is better to have such hybrid systems & devices to reduce total energy consumption.
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