Characterization of a Peltier Cooler Used in a Small-Scale District Heating Network
Open Access
Author:
Stecklair, Dylan T
Area of Honors:
Mechanical Engineering
Degree:
Bachelor of Science
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Dr. Stephanie Stockar, Thesis Supervisor Dr. Hosam Kadry Fathy, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Peltier Cooler Cogeneration District Heating Network Thermoelectric
Abstract:
Cogeneration is the combined production of heat and power within the same system for improved combined efficiency. When electricity is generated, hot water is typically a byproduct of component cooling. In these systems, rather than discarding the hot water, a secondary loop is implemented where it can instead be used to heat buildings within a District Heating Network (DHN). The delivery of hot water to the buildings in the network occurs through large underground pipes that are subject to energy losses and transport delays. Once the hot water is delivered to a building, a heat exchanger is used to deliver the requested heating power.
To study the heat losses experienced by a DHN, a small-scale DHN was built using a water heater, a pump, Pex piping, and thermal masses to represent the buildings within the network. To mimic the effect of heat losses to cold air outside these buildings, the thermal masses include a Peltier cooler that uses thermoelectric cooling and the Peltier effect to remove heat. This experiment studies the heat removal capabilities of these Peltier coolers and the impact of the desired temperature on the cooler’s performance, which has been identified as the limiting design factor of the small-scale DHN.