Accepted Manuscript

Energy saving potential of thermoelectric radiant cooling panels with

a dedicated outdoor air system

Hansol Lim , Jae-Weon Jeong

PII: S0378-7788(18)30234-2
DOI: 10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.03.062
Reference: ENB 8448

To appear in: Energy & Buildings

Received date: 19 January 2018

Revised date: 23 March 2018
Accepted date: 23 March 2018

Please cite this article as: Hansol Lim , Jae-Weon Jeong , Energy saving potential of thermoelec-
tric radiant cooling panels with a dedicated outdoor air system, Energy & Buildings (2018), doi:
10.1016/j.enbuild.2018.03.062

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 ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPT

Highlights

 Water-cooled TEM-RCP was proposed for parallel cooling in DOAS.

 Energy saving potential of DOAS with TEM-RCP was examined.

 VAV system and DOAS with CRCP were compared with DOAS with TEM-RCP.

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DOAS with TEM-RCP showed 40.7% reduction in the annual energy compared

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with VAV system

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 TEM-RCP consumed 1.0% more annual energy than that using the CRCP in

DOAS.

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Energy saving potential of thermoelectric radiant cooling panels

with a dedicated outdoor air system

Hansol Lim, Jae-Weon Jeong*

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Department of Architectural Engineering, College of Engineering, Hanyang University,

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222 Wangsimni-Ro, Seongdong-Gu, Seoul 04763, Republic of Korea

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Abstract
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The objective of this study is to investigate the energy saving potential of a dedicated outdoor

air system (DOAS) with a thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel (TEM-RCP) by
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comparing it with those of both a conventional variable air volume (VAV) system and a

DOAS with hydraulic ceiling radiant cooling panels (CRCP) via a detailed energy simulation.
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The theoretical and empirical models for each component were used to estimate the energy

performance of a VAV system and a DOAS with CRCP. Additionally, the TEM-RCP was
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analyzed by using the developed simulation models based on the semi-black box model.
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Hourly simulations were conducted to measure the annual energy performance. The results

indicated that the DOAS with a TEM-RCP consumed 40.7% less operating energy annually
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when compared with that of the conventional VAV system while the proposed system

exhibited only 1.0% more annual energy consumption when compared with the DOAS with

* Corresponding author. Tel.: +82-2-2220-2370; Fax: +82-2-2220-1945. E-mail address:

jjwarc@hanyang.ac.kr (J.W. Jeong)

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hydraulic CRCP given the relatively low dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) of the TEMs (i.e.,

0.73) that is used in the TEM-RCP. However, the average coefficient of performance (COP)

of the TEM-RCP for cooling was 8.3, which is significantly higher than that of the

conventional CRCP (4.6) during the operation period. This is because the TEM-RCP uses a

cooling tower for heat removal, and its cooling water temperature is sufficiently low without

requiring additional cooling of the TEM except during summer. Therefore, TEM maintains

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radiant panel temperature with low electric energy consumption. The study also indicated that

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if the ZT value of TEMs exceeded 0.75, then the proposed system exhibited lower annual

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energy consumption when compared to that of the DOAS with CRCP.

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Keywords: Thermoelectric module; Radiant cooling panel; Non-vapor compression system;
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Dedicated outdoor air system; Variable air volume system
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Nomenclature
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𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑀 Uniform cross-sectional area of the entire TEM [m2 ]

Cp Specific heat capacity [kJ/kg ⋅ K]

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DFR Driving force ratio [-]

fp
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Packing fraction of total TEM area covered by a thermoelement [-]

h Enthalpy [kJ/kg]
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H Total pump head [m]

I Input current [A]

K Thermal conductance of the lumped TEM [W/K]

l Height of the thermoelement [m]

𝑚̇ Mass flow rate [kg/s]

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n Number of thermoelectric modules [-]

N Number of thermocouples in a TEM [-]

P Electrical power consumption [kW]

P Pressure [Pa]

Q̇ Thermal energy [kW]

QR Exhaust air to outdoor air flow ratio [-]

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R Electrical resistance of the lumped TEM [Ω]

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RH Relative humidity [%]

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S Seebeck coefficient of the lumped TEM [V/K]

Spd

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Rotation speed [rpm]

Temperature [°C] US
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V Voltage [V]

V̇ Volume flow rate [m3/s]

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Z Figure of merit [K-1]

ZT Dimensionless figure of merit [-]

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Greek Symbols

α Seebeck coefficient for compact TEM [V/K]

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∆ Difference [-]

𝜀
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Effectiveness [-]

𝜂 Efficiency [-]

κ Thermal conductivity of the compact TEM [W/(m ⋅ K)]

ω Humidity ratio [kg/kga]

ρ Electrical resistivity of the compact TEM [Ω ∙ m]

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Υ Relative area for the thermoelectric elements [-]

Subscripts

a Air

c Cold

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cc Cooling coil

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cond Condenser

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CT Cooling tower

CWS Cooling water supply

CWR

dp
Cooling water return

Dew point
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EA Exhaust air

EW Enthalpy wheel
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h Hot
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hs Heat sink

in Inlet
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lat Latent load

max maximum
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MA Mixing air
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OA Outdoor air

out Outlet

p Point

RA Return air

rem Remain

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SA Supply air

sat Saturation

SW Sensible wheel

sen Sensible load

tot Total

w Water

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wb Wet-bulb temperature

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WB Water block

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Abbreviations

CAPFT US
Cooling capacity factor
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COP Coefficient of performance

CRCP Ceiling radiant cooling panel

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DEC Direct evaporative cooler

DOAS Dedicated outdoor air system

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EIRFT Energy input to cooling output factor

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GWP Global warming potential

ODP Ozone depletion potential

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PLR Part load ratio

RCP Radiant cooling panel

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TEM Thermoelectric module

TEM-RCP Thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel

1. Introduction

Over the last decade, a dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS) with a parallel sensible cooling
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system is attracting increasing attention due to its explicit benefits in securing good indoor air

quality with significant energy saving potentials [1,2] by decoupling sensible and latent

cooling functions. Ceiling radiant cooling panels (CRCP) were successfully used in several

existing buildings as a parallel cooling system [3,4].

Recently, thermoelectric module (TEM)-applied radiant panels were suggested as an

alternative for conventional hydraulic radiant cooling panels [5–8]. The TEM is an element

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that consists of n- and p-type semi-conductor thermocouples. Its operation is based on the

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thermoelectric effect, which converts electrical energy into thermal energy. Heat absorption

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and rejection occur at the cold and hot sides of TEM and create a temperature difference [9].

Additionally, the TEM is selected as a next-generation air conditioning technology and

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categorized into emerging non-vapor compression systems available as a heat pump [10]. The
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TEM exhibits advantages including the absence of refrigerants, chemical reactions, and

moving parts. It also includes advantages such as compact size, long life span of reliable
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operation, fast response, and good controllability [11–13].

Shen et al. [5] indicated the feasibility of a TEM radiant panel-integrated air-conditioning
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system by using a theoretical simulation although their study only focused on the estimation
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of the cooling performance of their TEM radiant panels without thoroughly considering the

heat rejection method at the hot-side of TEMs. Liu et al. [6] proposed a photovoltaic-assisted
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TEM radiant cooling panel with a displacement ventilation system. In the proposed system,

the dehumidified ventilation air was supplied to the conditioned zone via the displacement
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ventilation system, and air-cooled TEM radiant cooling panels accommodated the sensible

cooling loads of the zone. The electric power required for operating TEM panels was

supplied by the photovoltaic (PV) system. The cooling capacity and coefficient of

performance (COP) of the TEM radiant cooling panels were 60 W/m2 and 0.9, respectively.

Meanwhile, theoretical models for the TEM radiant panel were suggested in extant studies

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[7,8] and were applied to the optimized panel design by optimizing design parameters such as

the arrangement of TEMs, suitable number of TEMs, and thickness of the panel and

insulation. Although extant studies suggest the use of a TEM radiant cooling panel (TEM-

RCP), limited studies examined the energy performance of TEM-RCP combined with an

independent ventilation system such as DOAS. Additionally, previous studies did not

consider the use of a water-cooled TEM-RCP that exhibits energy performance and

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characteristics different from that of existing air-cooled TEM-RCP and conventional

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hydraulic CRCP.

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In this study, the energy saving potential of TEM-RCP combined with DOAS was evaluated

with respect to the reference case system, namely CRCP with DOAS by using detailed energy

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simulations. Furthermore, a variable air volume (VAV) system was simulated as a case for
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conventional heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system for comparison

purposes. Existing empirical and analytical models for each system component were applied
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via a series of energy simulations to evaluate the annual energy consumption and the

possibility of integrating TEM-RCP with DOAS.

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2. System overview

2.1. Variable air volume system

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In the VAV system (Fig. 1), supply air flow rate is determined based on the cooling load in

the conditioned zone. Minimum required ventilation air is mixed with return air to reduce the
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energy consumption in the air conditioning coils. Based on the sensible and latent loads, the

operation mode is determined as cooling and heating modes. The supply air is cooled and

dehumidified by the cooling coil in the cooling mode and heated by the heating coil in the

heating mode to meet the supply air temperature set point condition. The air side economizer

control is commonly used in the intermediate season operation [2] to minimize energy

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consumption. The supply air set point condition included 13 °C dry bulb temperature and 80%

relative humidity in the cooling mode (i.e., the sensible load is positive) and 20 °C in the

heating mode (i.e., the sensible load is negative) [14,15].

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Figure 1. Schematic of a conventional VAV system
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2.2. Dedicated outdoor air system

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The DOAS considered in the study consists of an enthalpy wheel, a sensible wheel, and a

cooling coil [2] (Fig. 2). The DOAS accommodates all the latent loads of the conditioned
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zone by supplying dehumidified minimum required ventilation air. A portion of the room

sensible load is also accommodated by the DOAS based on the supply air temperature.
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The operation mode of the DOAS as shown in Figure 3 was also suggested by extant studies
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[2]. In Region 1, the enthalpy wheel initially cools and dehumidifies the introduced outdoor

air by exchanging heat and moisture between outdoor air and exhaust air without mixing. The

cooling coil additionally dehumidifies the supply air to meet the dew point temperature

setpoint of the supply air. The sensible wheel reheats the supply air by reclaiming sensible

heat from the exhaust air when the supply air temperature is excessively low and causes a

cold draft. In Region 2, when the outdoor air enthalpy is lower than that of the room air while
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the humidity ratio of outdoor air exceeds the target humidity ratio for the supply air, the

cooling coil dehumidifies outdoor air without operating the enthalpy wheel. The sensible

wheel reheats the supply air if necessary. In Region 3, when the humidity ratio of outdoor air

is lower than the target humidity ratio for the supply air, the enthalpy wheel is activated to

humidify the supply air to meet the target humidity ratio by reclaiming moisture from the

exhaust air stream. The supply air temperature setpoint is satisfied by the cooling coil. In

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Region 4, the introduced outdoor air is preheated and humidified by the enthalpy wheel by

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reclaiming sensible heat and moisture from the exhaust air. The supply air temperature

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setpoint is satisfied by activating the sensible wheel. The temperature setpoint of the supply

air were 13 °C in the cooling mode and neutral temperature (e.g., 20 °C) in the non-cooling

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mode [15]. Additionally, the setpoint of humidity ratio for the supply air was varied based on
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the latent loads to remove latent loads in the cooling mode [2].

The remaining space sensible load that was not satisfied by the DOAS should be
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accommodated by a parallel system, such as CRCP, which provides additional sensible

cooling to the conditioned space.

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Figure 2. Schematic of DOAS with CRCP

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Figure 3. Operation modes for the DOAS on the psychrometric chart

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2.3. Ceiling radiant cooling panel

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Figure 2 shows the schematic of DOAS with a conventional CRCP combined system. The

air-cooled chiller supplies chilled water to the DOAS cooling coil and CRCP. The
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independent chiller for DOAS cooling coil and CRCP can be considered, however we

selected a single chiller application considering the initial cost and the system complexity.

Therefore, a two-way valve installed at the outlet of cooling coil adjusts the chilled water

flow rate based on the cooling coil load. In extant studies [16,17], the panel surface

temperature is generally 1 °C higher than that of the chilled water supply. Therefore, the

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target panel surface temperature of 16 °C is maintained by adjusting the three-way mixing

valve to satisfy the chilled water temperature set point (i.e., 15 °C) entering the CRCP and

accommodating the remaining sensible load of the conditioned zone. Additionally, the panel

surface temperature is maintained as at least 1 °C higher than the dew point temperature of

room air to avoid condensation.

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2.4. Thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel

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The water-cooled TEM-RCP considered in this study is shown in Figure 4(a). It consists of an

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aluminum panel, TEMs, insulation, and water blocks. The water block (Fig. 4(b)) is a hollow

metal block with inside channels for circulating cooling water. The cold side of each TEM is

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attached on the aluminum panel, and the water block is bonded on the hot side of each TEM
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to remove the released heat. It is necessary to insulate the top side of the TEM-RCP to

prevent the undesirable heat transfer to the plenum air. As shown in Figure 4(c), the cooling
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tower is used to supply cooling water to the water blocks, and the two-way valve is installed

to modulate the cooling water flow rate entering the water blocks to maintain the hot side
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temperature set point of the TEMs. The hot side temperature set point of TEM is determined
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based on the temperature of cooling water supply, and it is discussed in section 5.1.
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(a) Detailed drawing of the water-cooled TEM-RCP

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(b) Sectional 3D diagram of the water block

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(c) Schematic of DOAS with TEM-RCP

Figure 4. Detail drawing and schematic of DOAS with TEM-RCP
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3. Simulation overview
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3.1. Model space

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The model space conditioned by each system was a 100 m2 office space with 3-m ceiling

height. Two 10 m2 windows were located on the south and west exterior walls, and thus the
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window-to-wall ratio was 0.17. The sensible and latent heat generation rates of an occupant

were set as 75 W/person and 45 W/person, respectively, based on the ASHRAE Standard 90.1

[15]. The heat generation from the equipment (PC with a monitor) and light were 140

W/person and 13 W/m2, respectively, and the typical occupancy and system schedules

recommended by ASHRAE Standard 90.1 [15] for an office building were used to calculate

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the thermal loads by using the TRNSYS 17 program. The U-values of the roof, ceiling, wall

and windows were selected based on the local building code [14]. The room set point

conditions [14] were 25 °C dry bulb temperature and 50% relative humidity for cooling and

20 °C for heating. The calculated peak sensible load of the model space was 4.15 kW. The

physical conditions of the model space are summarized in Table 1.

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Table 1. Physical conditions of the model space

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Location Seoul, South Korea
Weather data IWEC2 [18]

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Building type Open plan office
Geometry 10 m (W) × 10 m (L) × 3 m (H)
Roof, Ceiling 0.297 W/m2∙K
U-values [14] Wall
Windows
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0.257 W/m2∙K
1.4 W/m2∙K
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Two 10 m2 windows (South and west)
Windows
Window-to-wall ratio: 0.17
140 W/person
Equipment
(Based on a PC with a monitor)
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Internal heat gain 75 W/person (Sensible)

Occupant [15]
45 W/person (Latent)
Light 13 W/m2 (EVG direct lighting)
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Temperature 25 °C
Cooling
Relative humidity 50%
Room set point
Temperature 20 °C
Heating
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Relative humidity -
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3.2. Variable air volume system model and system sizing

In the VAV system, the supply air flow rate is determined based on the sensible and latent
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load by using Equation (1). The return air flow rate is defined by Equation (2) based on the

supply air flow rate and the minimum required outdoor air ventilation rate as recommended

by the ASHRAE Standard 62.1 [19]. The outdoor airflow rate required per person was 2.5

L/s ∙ person, and the outdoor airflow rate required per unit area was 0.3 L/s ∙ m2 based on the

guidelines for office space. The zone population was assumed as 5, and the zone air

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distribution effectiveness was 1.0 for the ceiling supply of cool, warm air, and floor return.

Thus, the minimum required outdoor air ventilation rate was 0.0396 kg/s (≈ 110 m3/h), and

the maximum supply air flow rate was 0.245 kg/s in the VAV system. The dry bulb

temperature or humidity ratio of the mixed air is determined by using Equations (3) and (4) as

follows:

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(𝑄̇ 𝑠𝑒𝑛 +𝑄̇ 𝑙𝑎𝑡 )
𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴 =

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(1)
(𝑕𝑅𝐴,𝑃7 −𝑕𝑆𝐴,𝑃6 )

𝑚̇ 𝑅𝐴 = 𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴 − 𝑚̇ 𝑂𝐴

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(2)

𝑚̇ 𝑂𝐴 𝑇𝑂𝐴,𝑃1 +𝑚̇ 𝑅𝐴 𝑇𝑅𝐴,𝑃7

𝑇𝑀𝐴,𝑃2 = (3)
𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴

𝜔𝑀𝐴,𝑃2 =
𝑚̇ 𝑂𝐴 𝜔𝑂𝐴,𝑃1 +𝑚̇ 𝑅𝐴 𝜔𝑅𝐴,𝑃7
𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴
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In the cooling mode, the cooling coil load is determined by Equation (5). The cooling coil
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meet the target temperature and humidity ratio of the supply air. If it is necessary to reheat the

supply air to avoid the overcooling of the zone, then the supply air is reheated up to the
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neutral temperature and the reheating coil load is calculated by using Equation (6). In the
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heating mode, the minimum required outdoor air ventilation is supplied into the conditioned

zone at the neutral temperature of 20 °C. The heating coil loads is described in Equation (7)
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as follows:
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𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴 (𝑕𝑀𝐴,𝑃2 − 𝑕𝑆𝐴,𝑃3 ) (5)

𝑄̇ 𝑟𝑒𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴 𝐶𝑝,𝑎 (𝑇𝑆𝐴,𝑃6 − 𝑇𝑆𝐴,𝑃5 ) (6)

𝑄̇ 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴 𝐶𝑝,𝑎 (𝑇𝑆𝐴,𝑃4 − 𝑇𝑂𝐴,𝑃3 ) (7)

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Based on Equations (1) to (7), the peak loads of the cooling coil, reheating coil, and heating

coil were 5.80 kW, 0.97 kW, and 2.64 kW, respectively. Therefore, the sizes of the coils were

determined based on the peak loads.

3.3. Dedicated outdoor air system model and system sizing

3.3.1. Enthalpy wheel

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Empirical models predicting sensible and latent effectiveness of an enthalpy wheel were

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found in the open literature [1,20]. In the DOAS operation, when the outdoor air condition is

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in Region 1 (Fig. 3) on a psychrometric chart, the enthalpy wheel should be rotated at full

speed (e.g., 18–20 rpm) [2] to obtain maximum sensible and latent effectiveness values

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(𝜀𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝑚𝑎𝑥 and 𝜀𝑙𝑎𝑡,𝑚𝑎𝑥 ) as described in Equations (8) and (9) while the upper limits of
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sensible and latent effectiveness were assumed as 80% to prevent impractical results. The

expressions are as follows:

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𝜀𝑠𝑒𝑛,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = f(𝑉𝑆𝐴,𝑃1 , 𝑇𝑆𝐴,P1 , 𝑅𝐻𝑆𝐴,P1 , 𝑄𝑅 , 𝑉𝑆𝐴,𝑖𝑛 ) (8)

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𝜀𝑙𝑎𝑡,𝑚𝑎𝑥 = f(𝑉𝑆𝐴,𝑖𝑛 , 𝑇𝑆𝐴,𝑖𝑛 , 𝑇𝑅𝐴,𝑖𝑛 , 𝑅𝐻𝑆𝐴,𝑖𝑛 , 𝑅𝐻𝑅𝐴,𝑖𝑛 , 𝑄𝑅 ) (9)

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On the other hand, in Region 2 (Fig. 3), it is necessary to deactivate the enthalpy wheel to

avoid increases in the enthalpy of the supply air due to increases in the cooling coil load. The
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target humidity ratio of supply air (𝜔𝑆𝐴 ) should be satisfied by the cooling coil. The sensible

wheel should be activated to reheat the supply air when the temperature of supply air (𝑇𝑆𝐴 )

after the temperature of the cooling coil is lower than the setpoint temperature (e.g., 13 °C).

When the outdoor air condition is in Region 3 or Region 4 (Fig. 3), the enthalpy wheel should

be operated to satisfy the target humidity ratio of the supply air (𝜔𝑆𝐴 ) by adjusting the latent

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effectiveness of the enthalpy wheel (𝜀𝑙𝑎𝑡 ) as expressed by Equation (10). The latent

effectiveness (𝜀𝑙𝑎𝑡 ) of the enthalpy wheel is adjusted by the rotating speed control. When the

required latent effectiveness of the enthalpy wheel is predicted by Equation (10), the adjusted

rotation speed (Spd) is determined by Equations (11) with the driving force ratio (DFR) as

defined by Equation (12) [1]. The sensible effectiveness of the enthalpy wheel (𝜀𝑠𝑒𝑛 ) under

the adjusted rotating speed is determined by Equation (13) as follows:

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𝜔 −𝜔
𝜀𝑙𝑎𝑡 = |𝜔𝑆𝐴,𝑃2 −𝜔𝑂𝐴,𝑃1 | × 100 (10)

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𝑅𝐴,𝑃5 𝑂𝐴,𝑃1

Spd = f(DFR, 𝜀𝑙𝑎𝑡 ) (11)

𝐷𝐹𝑅 = 2430.6 × 2
𝑅𝐻𝑂𝐴,𝑃1
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(𝜔𝑅𝐴,𝑃5 ;𝜔𝑂𝐴,𝑃1 )/(𝑇𝑅𝐴,𝑃5 ;𝑇𝑂𝐴,𝑃1 )
(12)
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𝜀𝑠𝑒𝑛 = 13.844 × ln(𝑆𝑝𝑑) + 38.469 (13)

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3.3.2. Sensible wheel

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In Regions 1 and 2, the sensible wheel is used to reheat the supply air by claiming waste heat
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from the exhaust air when the supply air temperature leaving the cooling coil is lower than

the setpoint temperature (e.g., 13 °C). In Region 4, the outdoor air humidified by the enthalpy
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wheel may require additional heating by the sensible wheel when the enthalpy wheel leaving

air temperature is lower than the supply air temperature setpoint. The sensible wheel
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effectiveness (𝜀𝑆𝑊 ) required to satisfy the target supply air temperature is determined by

Equation (14). The rotating speed of the sensible wheel at the required sensible wheel

effectiveness is obtained by Equation (13) [21] as follows:

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𝑇𝑆𝐴,𝑃4 −𝑇𝑆𝑊,P3
𝜀𝑆𝑊 = × 100 (14)
𝑇𝑅𝐴,𝑃5 −𝑇𝑆𝑊,𝑃3

3.3.3. Cooling coil

The cooling coil load of the DOAS is determined by Equation (15). It is assumed that the

inlet chilled water temperature of cooling coil (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝑐𝑐 ) is 8 °C, the temperature difference of

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the chilled water across the coil is 5 °C, and the chilled water flow rate passing through the

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cooling coil (𝑚̇𝑤,𝑐𝑐 ) is controlled by the two-way valve based on the cooling coil load. The

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expression is as follows:

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𝑄̇ 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑚̇ 𝑆𝐴 (𝑕𝐸𝑊,𝑜𝑢𝑡,𝑃2 − 𝑕𝑐𝑐,𝑜𝑢𝑡,𝑃3 ) = 𝑚̇ 𝑤,𝑐𝑐 𝐶𝑝,𝑤 (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝐶 − 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝐶 ) (15)
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In DOAS, the size of the cooling coil was determined based on the peak load of cooling coil.

It was 1.43 kW, and this is significantly lower than that is the cooling coil in VAV because the
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DOAS only uses the minimum required ventilation rate of 0.04 kg/s for the supply air flow
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rate.
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3.4. Ceiling radiant cooling panel model and sizing

CE

In the DOAS with the CRCP system, the CRCP accommodates the remaining sensible load

(𝑄𝑟𝑒𝑚 ) of the conditioned zone, and this was not satisfied by the DOAS supply air (Eq. 16).
AC

As shown in Figure 2, the chilled water leaving the cooling coil is supplied to the CRCP. The

chilled water flow rate circulating to the radiant panel system is constant, and the panel

entering water temperature is controlled as 15 °C by the three-way valve. The expression is as

follows:

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𝑄̇𝐶𝑅𝐶𝑃 = 𝑄̇𝑟𝑒𝑚 = 𝑄̇𝑠𝑒𝑛 − 𝑚̇𝑆𝐴 (𝑕𝑟𝑎,𝑃5 − 𝑕𝑠𝑎,𝑃4 ) = 𝑚̇𝑤,𝐶𝑅𝐶𝑃 𝐶𝑝,𝑤 (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝑅𝐶𝑃 − 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑅𝐶𝑃 ) (16)

The peak cooling loads of the CRCP was 3.43 kW. In the hydraulic CRCP, the manufacturer

generally provides the cooling performance of the CRCP as the cooling capacity per square

meter with respect to the temperature difference between mean water temperature and room

air temperature and room designations. Therefore, the size of CRCP is defined by using the

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area of panels. Based on the manufacturer cut sheet [22], the CRCP exhibits a cooling

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capacity of 136 W/m2 in the simulated condition, and it is necessary to use 25.2 m2 of CRCP

CR
to satisfy the cooling performance. Then, its covered area rate with respect to the ceiling area

(100 m2) was 25.2 % in the model space.

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3.5. Thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel model and sizing

The existing TEM model in extant studies [23] was derived as a function of the selected
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thermophysical properties of the thermoelement used in TEM, such as heat conductivity (κ),

Seebeck coefficient (α), and electric resistivity (ρ) as defined by Equations (17) through (19).
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It is assumed that the thermoelements (i.e., p-type and n-type semi-conductors) exhibit
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identical thermophysical characteristics. The maximum cooling capacity (𝑄𝑚𝑎𝑥 ), maximum

temperature difference between cold and hot side (∆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 ), maximum input current (𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 ),
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thickness (𝑙), and area of TEM (𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑀 ) were obtained from the TEM manufacture’s cut sheet
AC

[24]. The packing fraction (fp) and the number of thermoelement couples (N) of the selected

TEM were 0.5 and 127, respectively [25]. The expression is as follows:

𝑄̇𝑚𝑎𝑥 (𝑇𝑕 ;∆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 )

α= (17)
𝑁𝑇𝑕2 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥

𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑀 𝑓(𝑇𝑕 ;∆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 )2 𝑄̇𝑚𝑎𝑥

ρ= 2𝑇𝑕2 𝑙 2
𝑁 2 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥
(18)

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𝑙(𝑇𝑕 ;∆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥 )2 𝑄̇𝑚𝑎𝑥

κ= (19)
𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑀 𝑓𝑇𝑕2 ∆𝑇𝑚𝑎𝑥

Based on the calculated properties of thermoelement, the thermophysical properties of

lumped TEM, such as Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical resistance (R) and thermal

conductance (K), were determined by Equations (20) through (22) as follows:

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S = 2Nα (20)

4𝑁 2 𝑙

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R=𝐴 (21)
𝑇𝐸𝑀 𝑓𝑝 𝜌

𝐴𝑇𝐸𝑀 𝑓𝑝
K=κ (22)
𝑙

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In the DOAS with TEM-RCP shown in Figure 4, the remaining sensible load (𝑄𝑟𝑒𝑚 ) that was

not satisfied by the DOAS supply air is accommodated by the TEM-RCP. Thus, the cooling
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load of the TEM-RCP (𝑄𝑐,𝑇𝐸𝑀;𝑅𝐶𝑃 ) should be identical to 𝑄𝑟𝑒𝑚 of conditioned zone with

an assumption for simplicity that the cold-side temperature of the TEMs (𝑇𝑐 ) was maintained
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at 15 °C and that the panel surface temperature converged to 16 °C due to the heat resistance
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of the aluminum panel. Consequently, the input current (I) to the TEM-RCP is determined by

Equation (23) [26]. The input voltage (V) and electrical power consumption (P) are also
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calculated by Equations (24) and (25), respectively. The amount of heat rejection

(𝑄𝑕,𝑇𝐸𝑀;𝑅𝐶𝑃 ) at the hot-side of the TEM-RCP is expressed by Equation (26) as follows:

AC

(𝑛𝐴𝑓𝛼2 𝑇𝑐2 );√(𝑛𝐴𝑓𝛼2 𝑇𝑐2 )2 ;2𝜌(𝑛𝐴𝑓𝛼2 𝑇𝑐2 )(𝜅∆𝑇𝑛𝑎𝑓:𝑙𝑄̇𝑐,𝑇𝐸𝑀−𝑅𝐶𝑃 )

I= { } × 𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 (23)
𝑛𝐴𝑓𝛼2 𝑇𝑐2

V = (I × R) + (S × ∆T) (24)

P =n×I×V (25)
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𝑄̇𝑕,𝑇𝐸𝑀;𝑅𝐶𝑃 = 𝑃 + 𝑄̇𝑐,𝑇𝐸𝑀;𝑅𝐶𝑃 (26)

In the proposed TEM-RCP, the released heat from the hot-side of the TEMs were removed by

circulating cooling water produced by the cooling tower through the water blocks attached at

the hot side of TEMs as shown in Figure 4. The approach and the range of the cooling tower

were 2 °C and 10 °C, respectively [27]. The cooling water supply temperature (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇 ) is

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determined by Equation (27). The hot-side temperature of the TEMs (𝑇𝑕 ) is expressed by

Equation (28) when the temperature difference between the hot-side of the TEM and the

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cooling water supplied (∆𝑇𝑕;𝐶𝑊𝑆 ) was known. The determination process is discussed in

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section 5.1. The cooling water flow rate supplied to the TEM-RCP was modulated by the

two-way control valve based on the amount of released heat (𝑄𝑕,𝑇𝐸𝑀 ). The expressions are as
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follows:
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𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇 = 𝑇𝑂𝐴,𝑤𝑏 + 𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑎𝑐𝑕 (27)

𝑇𝑕 = 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇 + ∆𝑇𝑕;𝐶𝑊𝑆
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(28)
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Meanwhile, the scavenger air flow rate of the cooling tower is determined by Equation (29)

with a liquid-to-gas ratio (LG ratio) of 1.5 obtained from the manufacturer’s cut sheet [28].
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The water flow rate of cooling tower (𝑚̇𝑤,𝐶𝑇 ) is determined by Equation (30) under the
AC

design condition. The design cooling water supply temperature (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 ) is obtained by

Equation (27) with the design outdoor air wet bulb temperature (𝑇𝑂𝐴,𝑤𝑏,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 ). The design

cooling water return temperature (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 ) is determined by Equation (31) when the

heat exchange effectiveness of the water block (𝜀𝑊𝐵 ) was known (e.g., 0.8). The expressions

are as follows:

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𝑚̇
𝑚̇𝑎,𝐶𝑇 = 𝐿𝐺 𝑤,𝐶𝑇 (29)
𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑜

𝑄𝑕,𝑇𝐸𝑀,𝑚𝑎𝑥
𝑚̇ 𝑤,𝐶𝑇 = (30)
𝐶𝑝,𝑤 (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 −𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 )

𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 = 𝜀𝑊𝐵 × (𝑇𝑕 − 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 ) + 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 (31)

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Additionally, the number of TEMs directly affects the initial costs of TEM-RCP and the

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covered area of radiant panel. As described in section 3.4, the cooling performance of radiant

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panel is defined by using the area of the panel because the cooling mechanism of radiant

cooling panel corresponds to convection and radiation heat transfer from the cooled panel.

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Thus, any radiant panels exhibited identical cooling performance if they exhibited the same

area as that of the panel with identical panel temperature. Therefore, the TEM-RCP with a
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25.2 m2 also exhibited cooling performance equal to that of CRCP if both the panels exhibit
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identical panel temperature. In case of the TEM-RCP, there is no manufacturer cut sheet but

there is a literature that provide the recommended length between TEMs for the radiant panel
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in the range of 0.387 m to 0.548 m [29]. The recommendation was derived based on the

dynamic heat transfer modeling for uniform temperature variation on the radiant panel.
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Therefore, it was assumed that the distance of 0.387 m between TEMs on the radiant panel
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was used, and it implied that a TEM corresponds to 0.15 m2. Thus, it was necessary to use

168 TEMs to install 25.2 m2 of TEM-RCP.

AC

3.6. Electrical chiller model

The air-cooled electric chiller model applied in the DOE-2 building energy simulation

program [30] was used to simulate the chiller energy consumption in each system case. In the

model, three performance curves, namely the available cooling capacity of the chiller

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(CAPFT) (Eq. 32), energy input of the cooling output factor (EIRFT) (Eq. 33), and part-load

efficiency of the chiller (EIRFPLR) (Eq. 34), were required to determine the required power

of the chiller (Eq. 35). The part load ratio (PLR) is defined by Equation (36). In the study, the

temperature of the chilled water supply (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆 ) was set as 8 °C. The expressions are as

follows:

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𝐶𝐴𝑃𝐹𝑇 = 𝑓(𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆 , 𝑇𝑂𝐴 ) (32)

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𝐸𝐼𝑅𝐹𝑇 = 𝑓(𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆 , 𝑇𝑂𝐴 ) (33)

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𝐸𝐼𝑅𝐹𝑃𝐿𝑅 = 𝑓(𝑃𝐿𝑅) (34)

𝑃 = 𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑓 ∙ 𝐶𝐴𝑃𝐹𝑇 ∙ 𝐸𝐼𝑅𝐹𝑇 ∙ 𝐸𝐼𝑅𝐹𝑃𝐿𝑅 US (35)

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𝑅𝑒𝑞𝑢𝑖𝑟𝑒𝑑 𝑐𝑜𝑜𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑜𝑎𝑑
𝑃𝐿𝑅 = (36)
𝐶𝑎𝑝𝑎𝑐𝑖𝑡𝑦 𝑜𝑓 𝑐𝑕𝑖𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑟 ∙𝐶𝐴𝑃𝐹𝑇
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3.7. Heating coil model

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In the VAV system, it was assumed that the heating coil and reheat coil were used [31]. In the

heating mode, the heating load of the zone was accommodated by the parallel heating unit
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with an electric heating coil in all three system cases. All the heating coils are assumed to
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correspond to electric coils, and the energy consumption is calculated by using Equations (37)

to (39) as follows:
AC

𝑃𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑄̇𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 (37)

𝑃𝑟𝑒𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 = 𝑄̇𝑟𝑒𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑐𝑜𝑖𝑙 (38)

𝑃𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑒𝑙 𝑕𝑒𝑎𝑡𝑖𝑛𝑔 = 𝑄̇𝑠𝑒𝑛 (39)

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3.8. Fan and pump model

(a) Fan

There are two fans in DOAS unit in all the simulated cases. In the TEM-RCP, the energy

consumption of a fan in the cooling tower was considered. The power of fan (P𝑓𝑎𝑛 ) is derived

by using a general fan model [30] in Equation (40). The part load ratio of the fan (𝑃𝐿𝑅𝑓𝑎𝑛 ) is

defined in Equation (41). If the fan operates in constant air flow rate, the part load ratio of the

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fan (𝑃𝐿𝑅𝑓𝑎𝑛 ) is 1. The air flow rates of supply and return ducts in DOAS and cooling tower

were constant. The fan power at the design air flow and for the constant air volume fan is

CR
calculated by using Equation (42). The fan efficiency (𝜂𝑓𝑎𝑛 ) was assumed as 50% [32], and

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the pressure drop (Δ𝑝𝑓𝑎𝑛 ) of each component applied on the simulation is listed in Table 2.

The pressure drops of the heat sink and direct evaporative cooler were used based on the data
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sheet from the manufacturer according to the air velocity. The expressions are as follows:
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2 3
P𝑓𝑎𝑛 = (0.001 + 0.147 ∙ 𝑃𝐿𝑅𝑓𝑎𝑛 + 0.951 ∙ 𝑃𝐿𝑅𝑓𝑎𝑛 − 0.100 ∙ 𝑃𝐿𝑅𝑓𝑎𝑛 ) ∙ 𝑃𝑓𝑎𝑛,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 (40)
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𝑉̇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑒𝑛𝑡
𝑃𝐿𝑅𝑓𝑎𝑛 = (41)
𝑉̇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛
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𝑉̇𝑎𝑖𝑟,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 𝛥𝑝𝑓𝑎𝑛
𝑃𝑓𝑎𝑛,𝑑𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑔𝑛 = (42)
𝜂𝑓𝑎𝑛
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Table 2. Total pressure drop of system components.

AC

System component Pressure drop (Pa)

MERV 6 filter 113 [33]
Enthalpy wheel 120 [34]
Sensible wheel 100 [35]
Supply air fan
Cooling coil 100 [2]
Heating coil 80 [33]
Balance of system 100
Enthalpy wheel 120 [34]
Return air fan
Sensible wheel 100 [35]

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Balance of system 200

Cooling tower fan Cooling tower pad 105 [36]

(b) Pump

The constant variable pumps were used in all cases by adjusting the inlet water flow rate by

using a two-way valve and by pass pipe. Therefore, the power consumption of pump (𝑃𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 )

is estimated by using Equation (43). The efficiency of the pump (𝜂𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 ) was assumed as

T
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60%, and the total head of components is summarized in Table 3.

CR
𝑉̇𝑓𝑙𝑢𝑖𝑑 ×H×9.8
𝑃𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝 = (43)
𝜂𝑝𝑢𝑚𝑝

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Table 3. Total head of system components.
System component Total head (m)
Chilled water pump [37] 20
Ceiling radiant cooling panel [38] 7
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Cooling tower [39] 15

Thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel [40] 10
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4. Simulation results
PT

4.1. Seasonal energy consumption

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(a) Summer (June, July, and August)

In Figure 5, the operating energy consumption of the components of each system during the
AC

summer were compared. As shown in the VAV system, the chiller and the heating coil for

reheating consumed most of the operating energy to accommodate all the sensible and latent

cooling loads by using the supply air.

On the other hand, in both DOAS integrated systems, significant reductions in chiller and

reheating coil energy consumptions were observed due to the energy reclaimed by enthalpy

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wheel and sensible wheel used in the DOAS. Additionally, when the TEM-RCP was used

with the DOAS, the reduction in the chiller energy consumption was more significant than

that for the DOAS with the CRCP system although this benefit in chiller energy consumption

was offset by the energy consumption in TEMs. Consequently, it is concluded that the DOAS

with CRCP and the DOAS with TEM-RCP exhibited 38.6% and 27.3% total operating energy

savings, respectively, when compared with those of the conventional VAV system during the

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summer. However, the DOAS with the TEM-RCP system exhibited 18.5% more energy

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consumption when compared with that of the DOAS with the CRCP system.

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Figure 5. Energy consumptions of studied systems in summer

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(b) Intermediate season (March, April, May, September, October, and November)
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Figure 6 shows a comparison of the operating energy consumptions during the intermediate

season in the three systems. The results indicate more significant heating and reheating coil

energy consumptions for heating the supply air in the VAV system while the chiller energy

consumption of the VAV system was lower than that of the DOAS with the CRCP system

thanks to the air-side economizer operation strategy. As expected, the DOAS with the TEM-

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RCP system exhibited the lowest chiller energy consumption although this advantage was

offset by the TEM energy consumption. Consequently, in the intermediate season operation,

both DOAS with CRCP and DOAS with the TEM-RCP systems exhibited significant total

operating energy savings of 37.3% and 42.3%, respectively, when compared with those of the

conventional VAV system.

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Figure 6. Energy consumptions of studied systems in the intermediate season

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PT

(c) Winter (December, January, and February)

In the operation during winter, all three system cases supplied the minimum required
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ventilation air to the conditioned zone at the neutral temperature (i.e., 20 °C) and the sensible

heating load in the zone was accommodated by the parallel heating units. Consequently, as
AC

shown in Figure 7, the only difference between the VAV system and two DOAS with radiant

panel systems corresponded to the heating and reheating coil energy consumptions. In the

DOAS with radiant panel systems, the enthalpy wheel and sensible wheel reclaimed the

sensible heat from the exhaust air to satisfy the supply air setpoint temperature, and this

provided energy benefits to the DOAS based systems. Thus, the DOAS with radiant panel

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systems saved 46.6% of operating energy when compared with that of the conventional VAV

system in winter.

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Figure 7. Energy consumptions of studied systems in winter
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4.2. Annual energy consumption

The annual energy consumption of three cases are compared in Figure 8. It is observed that
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the VAV system experienced significantly higher energy consumptions in the heating coil and
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fan energy due to reheating of the supply air and higher airflow rates to and from the

conditioned zone. Consequently, total annual operating energy savings of 41.3% and 40.7%
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were observed in the DOAS with CRCP and the DOAS with TEM-RCP, respectively, when

compared with those of the conventional VAV system.

AC

On the other hand, in the DOAS with TEM-RCP, significant chiller energy reduction was

obtained although this energy benefit was offset by the energy consumed in TEMs. Thus, the

DOAS with the TEM-RCP system consumed only 1.0% more operating energy (i.e., 0.04

MWh) than that of the DOAS with the CRCP system.

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Figure 8. Comparison of the annual energy consumption of studied systems

5. Discussion US
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5.1. Influence of the weather condition

The studied cases of VAV system, DOAS with CRCP and TEMRCP showed difference
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characteristics of energy performance according to the weather conditions of Seoul, Korea.

The VAV system showed lots of energy consumption in the cold weather because there is no
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energy recovery from the exhaust air and it consumed lots of heating coil energy. While, there
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were benefits in the intermediate season by air-side economizer operation in VAV system.

As shown in Figure 9, the total energy consumptions of studied systems were compared
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according to the month. The numbers labeled according to the month indicates the total

operation times of air-side economizer for each month. When the air side economizer was
AC

operated over about 240 hours, the VAV systems showed the least energy consumptions.

Therefore, even though the VAV system showed the most energy consumption annually in

Seoul, it can show better energy performance in the mild weather similar with the weather in

April, May, Jun, September and October of Seoul. Also, the DOAS with TEM-RCP showed

better performance than DOAS with CRCP except June, July, August and September. That is

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because the TEM-RCP can operate with high COP in the relatively cold and dry weather.

Therefore, the DOAS with TEM-RCP can show better performance in the microthermal and

dry climates. The detail about performance of TEM-RCP is described in section 5.3.

In addition, the characteristics of thermal loads affects to the energy performance of the

HVAC systems. In case of the DOAS, it shows good cooling performance in hot and humid

summer and energy recovery for heating in winter. However, if there is a building which has

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year-round cooling loads, such as in the data center, the core of larger building, and so on, the

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air-economizer operation of VAV can show more energy savings in winter and intermediate

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season [41,42].

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Figure 9. Comparison of the monthly energy consumption of studied systems

AC

5.2. Temperature difference between the hot side of TEM and cooling water

The energy consumption of TEM increases with the temperature difference between hot and

cold sides. In the TEM-RCP, the cold-side temperature of the TEMs should be maintained at

15 °C to obtain the desirable panel surface temperature. Consequently, the hot side

temperature of the TEMs is critical in determining the energy consumption of the TEM-RCP.

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With respect to the hot side temperature of TEM, a trade-off exists between the performance

of TEM and required water flow rate. First, the hot side temperature of TEM should exceed

the cooling fluid for heat rejection (i.e., the cooling water supply). Therefore, the minimum

temperature difference between cold and hot sides of TEM is determined based on the

cooling water temperature. Subsequently, the key factor is the temperature difference between

hot side of TEM and cooling water (∆𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆;𝑕 ) in Equation (44), and it is necessary to

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determine its optimum value. The expression is as follows:

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∆𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆;𝑕 = 𝑇𝑕 − 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇 (44)

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The cooling water supply temperature ( 𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑆,𝐶𝑇 ) depends on the outdoor wet-bulb
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temperature (Eq. 27), and thus the hot side temperature of TEM (𝑇𝑕 ) is determined based on

the pre-defined temperature difference between the hot side of the TEM and cooling water.
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If this temperature difference (∆𝑇𝑕;𝐶𝑊𝑆 ) is lower, then the energy consumption of TEM

decreases. However, the cooling water requires a large water flow rate (𝑚̇ 𝑤,𝐶𝑇 ) that leads to
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high energy consumption of the pump as shown in Equations (30) and (31). The lower hot
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side temperature of TEM (𝑇𝑕 ) decreases the cooling water return temperature (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝑇 ). The

decreased cooling water return temperature (𝑇𝐶𝑊𝑅,𝐶𝑇 ) increases the cooling water flow rate
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(𝑚̇ 𝑤,𝐶𝑇 ). Additionally, the amount of heat rejection at the hot side of the TEM-RCP (𝑄𝑕,𝑇𝐸𝑀 ) is
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also dependent on the hot side temperature of TEM. Therefore, the optimal temperature

difference between the hot side of the TEM and cooling water supply (∆𝑇𝑕;𝐶𝑊𝑆 ) should be

investigated in terms of energy consumption of the TEM, pump, and fan energy from the

cooling tower

As shown in Figure 10, the annual energy consumptions of TEM and distribution equipment

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were investigated based on the temperature difference with an interval of 0.1 °C. Additionally,

the optimal temperature difference that shows the minimum total energy consumption was

determined by using a hill climbing algorithm based on the dichotomous search method [43].

Thus, the optimum temperature difference values between the hot side of the TEM and

cooling water (∆𝑇𝑕;𝐶𝑊𝑆 ) was determined as 5.6 °C.

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Figure 10. Optimization of the temperature difference between the hot side of the TEM and

cooling water
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5.3. Performance of the thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel

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The annual performances of TEM-RCP are shown in Figure 11. There are three main
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parameters that determine the performance, namely an input current, the temperature

difference between hot and cold sides of the TEM, and COP for cooling.
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In Figure 11(a), the TEM-RCP was operated under the average input current of 0.66 A ±

0.35. Additionally, the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides was 9.62 °C ±

5.31 (Fig. 11(b)). The COP of TEM-RCP exhibited a high value of 8.32 ± 13.52 (Fig. 11(c)).

Specifically, the TEM exhibited very high COP due to the low temperature difference

between hot and cold sides. The only exception was observed during extremely hot and

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humid weather.

From another perspective, the cooling tower supplies cooled water to the radiant panel.

However, the temperature of the water is not sufficient to ensure cooling to the panel

temperature of 16 °C due to the limitation of evaporative cooling (i.e., the high wet-bulb

temperature of outdoor air). Therefore, the TEM supports the cooling by Peltier effects to

ensure cooling to the panel temperature of 16 °C. In that respect, this is the reason the TEM

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operates in the low temperature difference with high COP, and this achieves energy

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consumption similar to that of the vapor compression cycle based chiller.

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(a) Input current (b) Temperature difference (c) COP for cooling
Figure 11. Performance of TEM-RCP
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5.4. Figure of merit for the thermoelectric module radiant cooling panel

The performance of TEM is quantified by using the figure of merit (Z) as shown in Equation
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(45). It is a temperature-dependent parameter, and thus the temperature multiplied value of

the dimensionless figure of merit (ZT) is generally used.

𝛼2
Z= (45)
𝜌×𝜅

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The figure of merit is determined based on the characteristics of material and manufacturing

method. The general material for TEM is bismuth telluride (Bi2TE3) with ZT ranging from

0.7 to 0.9 [9]. In the study, we used a TEM with an average ZT value of 0.73, which

corresponds to a normal value. Therefore, the possible ZT value to achieve the energy savings

of TEM-RCP when compared with that of the CRCP was derived by increasing the Seebeck

coefficient to adjust the ZT value of TEM as shown in Figure 12. An increase in the ZT value

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led to energy savings as observed at the ZT value of 0.75. It exhibited ZT values almost

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identical to that of the already commercialized TEM. Additionally, in a very recent study,

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thermoelectric materials with a ZT value over 1.5 to 2.5 were developed such as PbTe/PbS,

Pb0.98Tl0.02Te, Pb1+xSbyTe, and PbTe-SrTe [44–47]. If a TEM with a ZT value of 2.5 is applied,

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then energy savings of 15.0% are achieved when compared to those of a system in which
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CRCP is used. Although high ZT value thermoelectric materials are not commercialized to

date, it is expected that TEM-RCP achieves energy savings as opposed to the use of a vapor
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compression based CRCP.

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Figure 12. Energy savings of TEM-RCP when compared with that of the CRCP based on the
ZT of TEM

6. Conclusions

In the study, the annual energy saving potential of DOAS with TEM-RCP was investigated by

using detailed energy simulations. As conventional systems, VAV and DOAS with CRCP

were also estimated to compare them with those of the DOAS with the TEM-RCP system.

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The water-cooled TEM-RCP was considered for the heat rejection method. Thus, the TEM-

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RCP exhibited very high COP in the intermediate season based on the low temperature

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difference between the hot and cold sides of the TEM. However, the COP of TEM decreased

under 1.0 in a hot and humid climate with the temperature difference between cold and hot

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sides exceeding 15 °C. In conclusion, 40.7% of annual energy savings is achieved by using
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DOAS with TEM-RCP when compared with that of the VAV system. Conversely, the TEM-

RCP is unable to achieve significant energy savings when compared with those of the CRCP
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due to the low ZT of the TEM. However, the TEM-RCP exhibits advantages of the simple

control method since it uses input current and exhibits fast temperature response as well as
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accurate and stable control. Interestingly, it is a non-refrigerant system that does not include
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GWP and ODP. Additionally, the ZT values that derive energy saving when compared with

that of the CRCP were estimated as only 0.76, and this is similar with those of the latest
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commercialized TEM. Therefore, given the development speed of TEM, it is expected that

the TEM-RCP will be practically used in the foreseeable future.

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Acknowledgement

This work was supported by the Korea Agency for Infrastructure Technology Advancement

(KAIA) grant (17CTAP-C116268-02), and the Korea Institute of Energy Technology

Evaluation and Planning (KETEP) (No. 20164010200860).

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