THERMOELECTRICREFRIGERATION

1. INTRODUCTION :
Today one cannot refuse the use of refrigeration system in our life,
not only in kitchen but also in shops, industries and commercial
purposes.Todays compression refrigeration system has given very
good performance. But refrigerants (Chlorofluorocarbons,
Hydrochloroflorocarbons) used in this systems are hazardous to the
environment and human life, because they react with very useful gas ozone
(O3). Thus depletion of ozone layer is the main problem in front of us.
Thermo-electric refrigeration system can able to substitute vapor
compression refrigeration system for small-scale applicant and may result
as solution of the problem above discussed.
COMPARISION WITH CONVENTIONAL COOLING SYSTEM:
Thermo-electric cooling is described as a solid-state method of heat
transfer generated primarily through the use of dissimilar semiconductor
materials. To understand the cooling method, it is first necessary to know
how thermoelectric cooling systems differ from their conventional
refrigeration counterparts. Like conventional refrigeration, thermoelectric
obey the basic laws of thermodynamics. Both in result and principle, then,
thermoelectric cooling has much in common with conventional refrigeration
methods - only the actual system for cooling is different.
Perhaps the best way to show the differences in the two refrigeration
methods is to describe the systems themselves. In a conventional
refrigeration system, the main working parts are the evaporator, condenser,
and compressor. The evaporator surface is where the liquid refrigerant
boils, changes to vapor and absorbs heat energy. The compressor
circulates the refrigerant and applies enough pressure to increase the
temperature above ambient level. The condenser helps discharge the
absorbed heat into the ambient air. In thermo-electric refrigeration,
essentially nothing has changed. The refrigerant in both liquid and vapor
form is replaced by two dissimilar conductors. The cold junction (evaporator
surface) becomes cold through absorption of energy by the electrons as
they pass from one semiconductor to another, instead of energy absorption
by the refrigerant as it changes from liquid to vapor. The compressor is
replaced by a DC power source which pumps the electrons from one
semiconductor to another. A heat sink replaces the conventional condenser

fins, discharging the accumulated heat energy from the system. The
difference between the two refrigeration methods, then, is that a thermoelectric cooling system refrigerates without the use of mechanical devices,
except in the auxiliary sense, and without refrigerant.

2. BASICS OF THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATION:

Thermo-electric refrigeration system is based upon the
principle of thermo-electric effect, which is observed first by Henrich
Lenze in 1938. This effect is based on different five laws, which are as
stated below2.1 Seebeck effect :
When two junctions of a pair of two dissimilar metals
maintained at different temperatures, there is generation of e.m.f.
Mr. Seeback conducted a series of tests by varying the
temperatures of the junctions of various combinations of set of materials.
The e.m.f. Output was found to be:
E T
E = ab T
Where ab= Seeback coefficient.
2.2 Peltier effect :
If direct current is passed through a pair of dissimilar metals
there is heating at one junction, cooling at other depending upon material
combinations.
QI
Q=ab. I
Where Q = rate of heating or cooling.
I = current passing through the junction.
= Peltier coefficient.
Early in the 19th Century, Jean Peltier discovered that a refrigerating power
is obtained by passing current along a circuit containing dissimilar
materials. Heat is absorbed at one junction of the two materials and heat is
released at the other junction. The transfer of heat is caused by the
change in electron energy levels when electrons access the conduction
band as defined by quantum physics. The conduction band varies with
each material which means that conducting electrons in some materials are
at a higher energy level than in other materials. When electrons pass down
a circuit of dissimilar materials, the electrons alternately extract energy or

release energy with each change in conduction band. The desired

refrigerating effect occurs when electrons move to a higher energy level
upon change of material. A reverse effect also occurs where electricity is
generated from a circuit of dissimilar materials that are exposed to a
temperature differential. This is the physical principle that forms the basis
of the thermocouple and is known as the Seebeck effect. The Peltier and
Seebeck effects are complimentary manifestations of the same physical
phenomenon. Thermo-electric power generation is also currently under
research as a means of obtaining electrical energy out of waste heat from
steelworks and incineration plants, automobile exhausts. A schematic
diagram of the electrical circuit that generates the Peltier effect and the
electronic mechanism of refrigeration is shown in Figure 2.
For most electrical conductors, viz. metals, the effect is too weak to be
useful. With metals, a weak Peltier effect is overwhelmed by strong Ohmic
heating and there is no net cooling effect.
2.3

Thomson effect:
It is reversible thermoelectric phenomenon. When a
current passes through a single conductor having temperature gradient has
exhibited.
2.4 Joulean effect: When the electric current passed through a
conductor, there is dissipation of electrical energy in the form of heat.
According to Joule it is related as
qj = I2R
Where I= current
R= electrical resistance
2.5 Conduction effect:
If the ends of any element are maintained at
different temperatures, there is heat transfer from hot end to cold
end & it is related by
Qcond = U (Th-Tl)
Where
U = overall conductance
Th=high temperature
Tl=low temperature
*Abram Ioffe and co-workers discovered that some semi-conductors
exerted a much stronger Peltier/Seebeck effect and developed thermo-

electric power modules that were used to generate electricity in remote

locations. In 1950, a co-worker of Ioffe, Lazar Stilbans, developed the first
recorded design of thermo-electric refrigerator using bismuth telluride and
related compounds to achieve a cabinet interior temperature of 2.3
degrees Celsius inside a room temperature of 19 degrees Celsius.

3. WORKING OF THERMO-ELECTRIC
REFRIGERATION:
As shown in figure 3 two different materials are connected by battery in
which P-type region is connected to the positive terminal and N-type to the
negative terminal.
If a current is passed trough them, the cooling is produced at one
junction and heat is produced at other junction. If T h is maintained at
ambient temperature, Tc will be lower at ambient temperature. It also to be
noted that which of the junction or ends will become cold or hot depends on
direction of flow of current.
From the analysis of all the effects it has been found thatcoefficient
performance of system is
COP= qc/energy supplied
= [ab I Tl-I2R/2-U (Th-Tl)]/ [ab (Th-Tl) I+I2R]
Where ab= Seeback constant
I = Current passed
R= Electrical resistance
U= Overall conductance
Th= High temperature
Tl= Low temperature
Assumptions made for COP equation are:
1. Heat transfer takes place through the semiconductor at the ends only.
2. No energy exchange between the conductors through space separating
them.
3. Properties such as conductivity resistance are invariant with temperature.

Theory of Operation
The semiconductor materials are N and P type, and are so named because
either they have more electrons than necessary to complete a perfect
molecular lattice structure (N-type) or not enough electrons to complete a
lattice structure (P-type). The extra electrons in the N-type material and the
holes left in the P-type material are called "carriers" and they are the
agents that move the heat energy from the cold to the hot junction.
Heat absorbed at the cold junction is pumped to the hot junction at a
rate proportional to carrier current passing through the circuit and the
number of couples. Good thermo-electric semiconductormaterials such as
bismuth telluride greatly impede conventional heat conduction from hot to
cold areas, yet provide an easy flow for the carriers. in addition, these
materials have carriers with a capacity for carrying more heat.
Heat Sinks
The design of the heat exchanger is a very important aspect of a
good thermo-electric system. The upper part of the diagram illustrates the
steady-state temperature profile across a typicalthermo-electric device from
the load side to the ambient. If the heat sink is not capable of rejecting the
required Qs from the given system, the temperature of the entire system will
rise and the cold junction temperature will increase. If the thermo-electric
current is increased to maintain the load temperature, the COP (Coefficient
of Performance) tends to decrease. Thus, a good heat sink contributes to
improve COP. Energy may be transferred to or from the thermo-electric
system by three basic modules: conduction, convection, and radiation. The
values of Qc and Q1 may be easily estimated; their total along with the
power input gives Qs, the energy the hot-junction heat sink must dissipate.

Refrigeration based on the Peltier effect:

It is obtained by arranging a series of thermo-electric cells in a
horizontal array which is then encased in plates made of an electrical
insulator. Each thermo-electric cell consists of a pair of dissimilar semiconductors which are connected by electrical conductors at either end. The
requisite dissimilarity in semi-conductors is obtained not only by using
dissimilar materials, but also by using different dopants. The tablet shaped
component that is produced by this means is called a module or Peltier
module. The passage of electric current through the module causes one of
the plates to become hot and the other to become cold. When there is
adequate cooling to the heated plate, the opposing plate can reach a low

temperature or extra heat on a continuous basis. Figure 4 shows a

schematic diagram of a Peltier module and how it transfers heat.
The Coefficient of Performance (COP) of a Peltier module is defined
in the same way as for a conventional refrigeration system,viz.
Coefficient of Performance = Rate of heat extraction divided by Electrical
Power input. Critical materials parameters to ensure a high COP are a
high thermo-electric coefficient to generate the cooling effect, a high
electrical conductivity to suppress Ohmic heating and a low thermal
conductivity to prevent much heat being conducted from the hot side of the
module to the cold side of the module.
Peltier modules are widely used to produce localized cooling in scientific
and technical applications such as laser-chip coolers and a portable insulin
cold-box. The advantages of mechanical simplicity and suitability for smallscale applications are the principle reasons for selecting thermo-electric
cooling instead of compressor-driven refrigeration for these applications.
Large scale cooling applications such as air-conditioning and
refrigeration have been attempted and technically functional systems were
developed to cool trains, helicopters and aircraft. Small volume
applications such as the train drivers cab where convenience and lack of
moving parts overweighed considerations of power consumption were
found to be appropriate for thermo-electric air conditioning. A refrigerator
(without freezer) was developed for hotel bedrooms where the airconditioning prevents over-heating on hot summer days and the lack of
compressor noise is considered a major asset. This thermoelectric refrigerator is now sold in Japan to hotels as a quiet and nonpolluting food storage system for hotel rooms.
The energy efficiency or coefficient of performance of thethermoelectric refrigerator remains a major consideration. The efficiency of
the thermo-electric modules are more sensitive to the temperature
difference between hot and cold sides than a corresponding compressor
system. The efficiency of the thermo-electric refrigerator largely depends
on the heat transfer system used to transfer heat from the refrigerated
cabinet through the comparatively small thermo-electric module and out to
the external atmosphere. A well-designed thermo-electric system can offer
a higher coefficient of performance than an adsorption refrigerator.
The thermo-electric system which only needs water or brine for
efficient functioning has become a potentially attractive mode of
refrigeration. In this article, the major limitations of current thermo-electric

refrigeration systems are discussed together with proposals for future

remedy.
Thermo-electric device manufacturers report that a single-stagethermoelectric cooler can achieve temperature differences up to 70C (126F) or
can transfer a maximum load of 125 watts (426 Btu/h) when the
temperature difference is zero. By cascading several devices together,
multistage coolers increase cooling capabilities. Greater temperature
differences up to 131C (236F) can be achieved in this manner.
However, there are a number of recent developments that have made the
application of thermo-electric cooling and heating more attractive for
commercial products. New applications, materials and technology have
enhanced those commercial potentials significantly. For example, certain
semi-conductors (alloys of tellurium are of particular interest) have thermoelectric properties superior to conductor materials. These characteristics
have allowed several niche applications to develop.

4. CURRENT THERMO-ELECTRIC TECHNOLOGY

The simplest system involves air cooling on both the hot and cold
sides; more advanced systems have water cooling on either the hot or cold
sides or else on both faces. The air-air system can be used for airconditioning where indoor air to be cooled is blown directly onto the cold
face of the Peltier module while heat is released directly to outdoor air. A
commercial cooling system involving air-cooling on the hot side and heat
transfer to a coolant or test fluid on the cold-side is marketed by several
companies. A system using heat transfer to water on both the cold and hot
faces of the module was developed for use in a refrigerator.
The main advantage of air-cooling is simplicity since only fins and a fan are
required but the major disadvantage is reduced thermal efficiency. It is
found that the poor thermal conductivity of air causes a high temperature to
develop on the hot face and conversely a very low temperature on the cold
face for even a moderate level of heat transfer. For example, if the
difference in temperature between the interior of refrigerator and the
external atmosphere is 20 degrees Kelvin, then the thermo-electric module
would have to operate at approximately 40 degrees Kelvin temperature
difference in order for sufficient heat transport to balance the heat leakage

into the cabinet. Each face of the module would need approximately 10
degrees Kelvin temperature difference relative to either the refrigerated
cabinet or the external air before there is sufficient heat transfer by
convection in air. This larger temperature difference causes the coefficient
of performance to decline from approximately 1 to 0.5 or less because of
reverse thermal conduction in the module.
A liquid-liquid heat transfer system for the Peltier module usually
involves a liquid coolant which transfers heat from the module to the air by
a radiator. It is also possible to cool a process fluid directly without using a
radiator. This is a more efficient process but may involve problems of
corrosion or blockage inside the heat exchange tubes. A pump is required
to circulate the coolant and the radiator will probably require a fan, thus
raising the level of mechanical complexity of the system when compared to
direct air cooling. In most cases, water is used as the coolant because it is
readily available, non-corrosive and an efficient medium for heat transfer.
Brine is also used on the cold side of the module in order to prevent
blockage by freezing of the coolant.
The main advantage of using water-based cooling systems is that the
Peltier module can work at a temperature difference that is far closer to the
nominal temperature difference of the system. This is because the
convective heat transfer coefficient between water and a solid interface is
much higher than air for comparable flow conditions. The Peltier module is
then able to work at close to its optimum thermodynamic efficiency thus
reducing electricity consumption to practicable levels. Refrigeration is a
major source of electricity consumption and there is little purpose to
mitigate ozone destruction if in return, the greenhouse effect is intensified
by an increase in electricity demand. European Union (EU) legislation has
imposed limits on the amount of electricity that can be consumed annually
by an individual refrigerator inside EU countries. This legislation
necessitates either a high coefficient of performance from the refrigerating
system or very efficient thermal insulation on the refrigerator cabinet.
The maximum temperature difference between hot and cold side for
practical functioning by Peltier modules is approximately 70 degrees
Celsius. Larger temperature differences can be obtained by stacking the
Peltier modules where the waste heat from the coldest module is
conducted to the cold side of the warmer module. The disadvantage of this
method is the low COP so that it is mostly used for specialized
instrumentation applications.

A valuable feature of thermo-electric refrigeration is the ease at

which fractional power settings (for example, half-power) can be
maintained. The full power of the thermo-electric system is reserved
for cooling the cabinets from ambient temperature to set temperature
while the fractional power setting at steady state is optimized for
maximum COP. A thermo-electric refrigeration system can be set at a
power level sufficient to maintain the set temperature indefinitely instead of
hunting around a set point, as is the case with a compressor refrigerator.
Typically a compressor driven refrigerator is controlled by a thermostat
which only starts up the compressor when the temperature is
approximately 3 degrees Kelvin higher than the set-point. It is possible to
reduce this temperature bandwidth but then the compressor must function
at reduced efficiency because of frequent operations for short periods of
time when the compressor is still warm. Thermo-electric
refrigeration enables food to be held within a narrow temperature range
without being exposed to periods of unsuitably high or low temperatures.
This control of temperature minimises low temperature damage (chilling
injury) to fruits and vegetables, while suppressing the growth
of pathogenic organisms such as salmonella, in stored meats. Bacterial
growth rates have an exponential relationship with temperature, which
means that even brief excursions of temperature above the set-point
generate a disproportionately large amount of bacterial growth. Bacteria
can degrade the nutrients within the food and release toxins, which may
cause illness for the consumer of the food.

5. DEVELOPMENT OF MATERIALS:
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, humanity has
demanded an ever-increasing supply of energy.
TE devices are currently used in automotive seat coolers/heaters
(over 500,000/yr), in portable refrigerators that plug into an automobiles
cigarette lighter, and in chemical and nuclear generators in arctic regions
and space probes. Increasing the efficiency of TE materials has been the
primary goal of research in the field, and may allow penetration of the
economical and environmentally friendly technology. Thermo-electric might
then be coupled to any number of heat sources to extract electricity from
heat that would otherwise have been dissipated into the environment as
waste. Examples of potentially useful heat sources include fuel cells, the
steam generator systems inherent in all large power plants, solar collectors,
the shaded sides of solar cells, and automotive exhaust. A Japanese

collaboration has predicted that gas mileage would be improved by several

miles per gallon if the alternator were replaced by an array of TE
generators. Generators could also be attached to wood stoves to electrify
remote areas. Proposed uses of efficient TE refrigerators include the
cooling of high-temperature superconductor cables that could be used to
distribute electric power without loss and the cooling of microchips to
enable faster computing and more sensitive detectors. The military is
considering the use ofthermoelectric in wireless IR detectors, temperature
stabilization of optics, cooling of microprocessors and CCDs, controlling
heat signatures, individual man portable micro-climate systems, remote
power sources, and air conditioning and waste heat recovery for ships,
submarines, land vehicles, and aircraft.
TE materials naturally generate a temperature gradient in the
presence of an electromotive force (emf) and they produce an emf in a
temperature gradient. While all materials except superconductors possess
some TE character, only a few systems are efficient enough to generate
interest. These include the lead, bismuth, and antimony chalcogenides,
skutterudites such as cobalt triantimonide, bismuth antimony, silicon
germanium, boron carbides, and more complex compounds and alloys
based on these systems. A TE refrigerator connects two or more pieces of
TE material to of voltage source. A generator can be made from the same
device is the voltage source is replaced by a load (e.g. a battery charger).
Nearly all devices use two different types of materials, one "n-type" and the
other "p-type." These pieces must be connected so that they are electrically
in series, but thermally in parallel. This situation is illustrated in the figures
below.
The figure above is a simplified schematic of a TE cooler. The voltage
source moves electrons and holes (think of them as bubbles in a sea of
electrons) to the right in the n- and p-type materials, respectively. These
charge carriers also carry heat as they travel, picking it up on the left and
dumping it on the right. Simultaneously, phonons (vibrations in the atoms of
a solid) carry some heat back, detracting from the performance of the
device.
Earlier Bismuth and Antimony were used in thermo-electric
refrigerator. Latter on various semiconductor materials developed. In
todays status materials like BiTe3/Sb2Te3/Bi2Se3 alloy are being used in
Peltier refrigeration. Further investigations suggest compounds made from

elements found in the lower right corner of the periodic table group IIIB to
VIB.
Some materials and their figure of merits are as shown in chart.

6. ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES:

Thermo-electric coolers are small, compact, lightweight, use solid state
construction and have no moving parts, fluids or gases. These
characteristics can offer many advantages compared to other
heating/cooling technologies. A fan or pump may be needed for heat
transfer in larger thermoelectric systems; however, proper choice can limit
energy consumption and keep the system quiet. As uses increase and
mass production becomes more of a reality, the prices of these devices are
expected to decrease, making their applications even more attractive.
How Efficient Are TE's?
The efficiency of a TE device or material is captured by its figure-ofmerit:
ZT=S2 T/
Where S is the Seebeck coefficient, is the electrical conductivity, It is the
absolute temperature, and is the thermal conductivity. The Seebeck
coefficient describes the magnitude of the voltage that develops between
the two ends of a device/material held at different temperatures. Typical
materials have figures-of-merit near one which make them about 10%
efficient. Compressor and steam generator systems, in contrast, operate
near 30% efficiency. Researchers have long sought to improve the
efficiency of TE materials. To accomplish this, one must increase the
Seebeck coefficient (large effective masses, unusual band structures),
increase the carrier mobility (covalently bonded solids, quantum wells),
and/or decrease the thermal conductivity (large unit cells, large effective
masses, increasing disorder to decrease mean free path of phonons).
However, difficulties in enhancing ZT arise because these materials
properties are not normally independentincreases in S lead to decreases
in , and increases in lead to increases in . New approaches to
improving the figure of merit center around attempts to decouple these
relationships using super lattice structures, segmentation, quantum
confinement, and phonon rattlers.
Advantages

2.
3.
4.
5.

1. Absence of moving parts eliminates vibration problem as well

as regular attendance. Therefore, it can be best suited for system
where vibration is undesirable. It is lighter in weight per unit mass of
refrigeration.
It is most suitable or the production cooling suit.
Since no refrigerant is used, there is no question of toxicity environmental
problem and can directly used for air condition.
The load can be easily controlled by means of adjusting the current to
meet the situation.
Its design and manufacture is rather much simpler then the other
refrigeration systems.
Disadvantages
The major disadvantage with thermo-electric cooling remains the
low efficiency. New materials with better characteristics need to be
developed before thermoelectric cooling can be used in larger airconditioning and refrigeration systems. Yet, there are already many niche
applications where this technology is used effectively.
Overall COP of this system experimentally found to be 0.1 to 0.2.

7. APPLICATIONS:
One application in practical use is that of a drinking water cooler.
Although there may be variations by different manufacturers, the author
has observed and used one thermo-electrically cooled (and heated)
drinking water cooler that dispenses ice water. The thermoelectric module
cools a disk at the bottom of a holding tank well. In this well, there is a
focus beam that shines across the disk to a light sensor. The 120 volt
power supply has a switching circuit that detects the amount of light across
the disk. When ice forms on the disk and it builds to a thickness that
deflects some of the light, the power supply is switched off. With the current
stopped, some of the heat from the modules hot side heat exchanger will,
warm the disk to free the ice by conduction. The remainder of the heat is
dissipated to the atmosphere with a small fan. Once the ice breaks free, it
will float to the top of the holding tank, the light sensor will turn the power
supply back on, and a new block will be produced approximately every
hour.

Today, thermo-electric cooling is used in medical and pharmaceutical

equipment, spectroscopy systems, and various types of detectors,
electronic equipment, portable refrigerators, beverage coolers, chilled food
and beverage dispensers, and drinking water coolers. Requiring cooling
devices with high reliability that fit into small spaces, powerful integrated
circuits in today's personal computers also employ thermoelectric coolers.
These devices are also used to provide temperature control in
telecommunication systems and have even been used as a toy in an
electronic pen that draws and erases on a thermally-sensitive writing pad.
Using solid state heat pumps that utilize the Peltier effect, thermoelectriccooling devices are also under scrutiny for larger spaces such as
passenger compartments of idling aircraft parked at the gate.
Thermo-electric devices manufacturers are expanding their production lines
and are offering custom items designed and built to precise customer
specifications. Cooling assemblies are being made now, using a
coordinated system of heat exchangers, cold plates and even customersupplied accessories ready to be plugged into a system by the user.

8. FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS:
The two main issues in thermo-electric refrigeration are the development of
new materials with stronger Peltier effects and the application of these
materials to real engineering problems such as refrigeration and control of
process heat. The former issue is primarily the domain of physicists and
materials scientists who test a large number of materials looking for
crystalline structures which combine high electrical conductivity with low
thermal conductivity as well as a strong thermo-electric characteristic. The
latter issue is of greatest concern to mechanical engineering where
problems such as heat transfer between the module and cheap
manufacture of modules are of concern. For refrigeration, unlike airconditioning, the power consumption is relatively small, typically 50 Watts
which means that the number of modules and their cost is also small. This
means that the main issue for refrigeration is heat transfer between the
module and its external environment. The level of interest in these
engineering problems is intensifying as the efforts of physicists and

materials scientists produce thermo-electric materials with usefully high

levels of performance.
There has been steady progress in raising the performance of the
materials and construction of thermo-electric modules since the first
application of bismuth telluride in the 1950s. A purified form of bismuth
telluride now enables the manufacture of thermo-electric modules
with a Coefficient of Performance approximately equal to unity for
temperature differences of 29 degrees Kelvin. The standard test
temperature difference for a refrigerator cabinet is 29 degrees Kelvin where
the cabinet interior is set at 3 degrees Celsius and the exterior at 32
degrees Celsius. The thermo-electric module would operate at a higher
temperature difference than this because of conduction and
convection losses in the thermo-electric refrigeratingsystem. A high
efficiency of the Peltier module is obtained when these secondary
temperature losses are reduced to very small values compared to the
temperature difference across the Peltier module.
Enhancement of the heat transfer between the hot and cold faces of
a Peltier module and the working fluid is still however a major topic of
research since the relative power consumption of a Peltier when used in a
refrigeration system remains high. The key factor to improve energy
efficiency is efficient heat transfer. A major problem is the small size of the
Peltier modules compared to their heat output which means that a
generous heat transfer coefficient is needed to prevent a large temperature
difference between the module and the working fluid. It is fortunate that
water is an effective heat transfer since the choice of fluids is greatly limited
by considerations of non-toxicity and non-corrosiveness for a domestic
refrigerator. The sensitivity of Peltier module efficiency to temperature
difference between hot and cold face means that even a saving of 1 degree
in temperature losses can generate a significant increase in the overall
Coefficient of Performance. A fundamental problem is that the same
pumps and fans which generate vigorous convective heat transfer and
thereby raise the coefficient of performance of the Peltier module, also
consume power to lower the overall system efficiency. The efficiency of the
pumps and manifolds should be as high as possible with a balanced
distribution of electrical power to the various sub-systems within the
refrigerator.

9. CONCLUSION:

From the all above discussion we can predict that thethermoelectric refrigeration is in experimental stage. Though it is so, today it is
being used in surgery for cooling the instrument used for extracting the
crystalline lens out of the eye.
There is problem from testing of thermo-electric refrigeratorthat by
using the heat pipe, we can achieve heat transfer rate 500 times more than
the conventional heat removal aids like fins etc.by evaporating the heat
pipe reverse heat transfer which occurs after the shutoff power supply can
be solved So it has been noticed that use of heat pipe will lead to improve
the performance of the thermo-electric module and ulmatly the refrigerator.
Thermo-electric refrigeration is likely to become a significant form of
domestic refrigeration within the medium term because of the need to avoid
refrigerating fluids that are hostile to the environment.
Precise control of temperature for better food preservation, low noise and a
reduced number of moving parts are also significant benefits of thermoelectric refrigeration.
The energy consumption of thermo-electric refrigeration can be reduced to
moderate levels with further improvements in the heat transfer between the
various stages of the refrigerating system.
Last but not least, I feel that though thermo-electric
refrigeration system is at experimental stage and have less application
today, in future it can become popular, convenient, reliable eco-friendly
alternative refrigeration system.