Experimental evaluation of the thermoelectric package air conditioning for an automotive interior application.

Numerous researchers are developing air conditioning for vehicles. One of the newest techniques for air cooling is thermoelectric package acr conditioning (TEPAC), numerous benefits include its compact size, low weight, and ability to handle direct current sources. However, this study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of the two modes (water /air and air/air) TEPAC system under the 50 min test period. The cooling characteristics of the TEPAC system with eight thermoelectric cooling (TEC) units are experimentally presented. A TEPAC system with a prototype chamber to simulate the automotive interior is proposed to reach the desired temperature of 24 °C. The effects of TEC input electrical current, air flow rate and water flow rate on the cooling performance are measured. A comparative analysis of the overall coefficient of performance (COPoverall) and electrical power consumption (EPC) has been evaluated for two TEPAC system modes. The COPoverall the water/air TEPAC mode was more effective than the air/air TEPAC mode in all cases studied. It was found that water/air TEPAC mode generally had higher COPoverall (18.2: 30 %) than those of the air/air TEPAC mode, and the total EPC in water/air mode was found to be roughly 1.5–4.5 % greater than in air/air mode. The water/air TEPAC mode also proved flexible in maintaining the desired temperature with the pulse width modulation kit (PWMK) technique under % 50 duty cycle. Therefore, the water/air TEPAC mode is more effective for use in automotive interior air conditioning.