International Journal of Environmental Science and Development

Abstract—This paper theoretically analyses and experimentally investigates the performance of Solar Photovoltaic driven thermoelectric cooler system for cold storage application. Small cold storage box of 3 liter capacity has been used for this investigation. The experimental setup has been made and analyzed for its performance in the composite climate of Delhi, India. Experimental results demonstrated that this unit could maintain the temperature of 10-15 degree Celsius inside the cold box. Moreover, energy and exergy analysis of the PV-TEC system has been performed to identify and quantify the irreversibilities occurring in the system. The performance of the system depends on incoming solar insolation and the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides for thermoelectric cooler module. It is expected that the cooler have potential for cold storage of food, vaccine and milk products in remote areas where electric power supply is not available.

Index Terms—Solar, thermoelectric cooler, cold storage.

S. C. Kaushik is with Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, Delhi-110016, India (e-mail: kaushik@ces.iitd.ac.in).
S. Manikandan and Ranjana Hans are with the Centre for Energy Studies, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Hauz Khas, Delhi-110016, India (e-mail: manikandan@ces.iitd.ac.in, ranjana1219@rediffmail.com).

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Cite: S. C. Kaushik, Ranjana Hans, and S. Manikandan, "Theoretical and Experimental Investigations on Solar Photovoltaic Driven Thermoelectric Cooler System for Cold Storage Application," International Journal of Environmental Science and Development vol. 7, no. 8, pp. 615-620, 2016.