Entropy Production and Thermoelectric Device Performance

1984 ◽  
Vol 106 (4) ◽  
pp. 881-885
Author(s):  
E. F. Thacher

Integral forms for the thermal efficiency of thermoelectric generators, the coefficient of performance of thermoelectric refrigerators, and the coefficient of performance of thermoelectric heat pumps are derived. These forms are obtained for the isotropic material, nonsteady-state, nonadiabatic leg surface case. An example of the use of these forms is given.

Author(s):  
L Chen ◽  
J Li ◽  
F Sun

A model of two-stage semiconductor thermoelectric heat pumps with external heat transfer and internal irreversibility is built. Performance of the heat pump with Newton's heat transfer law is analysed and optimized using the combination of finite-time thermodynamics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The analytical formula about heating load versus working electrical current, and the coefficient of performance (COP) versus working electrical current are derived. For the fixed total number of thermoelectric elements, the ratio of number of thermo-electric elements of top stage to the total number of thermoelectric elements is also optimized for maximizing the heating load and the COP of the thermoelectric heat pump. The effects of design factors on the performance are analysed.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 137
Author(s):  
Florian Schlosser ◽  
Heinrich Wiebe ◽  
Timothy G. Walmsley ◽  
Martin J. Atkins ◽  
Michael R. W. Walmsley ◽  
...  

Heat pumps are the key technology to decarbonise thermal processes by upgrading industrial surplus heat using renewable electricity. Existing insight-based integration methods refer to the idealised Grand Composite Curve requiring the full exploitation of heat recovery potential but leave the question of how to deal with technical or economic limitations unanswered. In this work, a novel Heat Pump Bridge Analysis (HPBA) is introduced for practically targeting technical and economic heat pump potential by applying Coefficient of Performance curves into the Modified Energy Transfer Diagram (METD). Removing cross-Pinch violations and operating heat exchangers at minimum approach temperatures by combined application of Bridge Analysis increases the heat recovery rate and reduce the temperature lift to be pumped at the same time. The insight-based METD allows the individual matching of heat surpluses and deficits of individual streams with the capabilities and performance of different market-available heat pump concepts. For an illustrative example, the presented modifications based on HPBA increase the economically viable share of the technical heat pump potential from 61% to 79%.


Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1576
Author(s):  
Piotr Jadwiszczak ◽  
Jakub Jurasz ◽  
Bartosz Kaźmierczak ◽  
Elżbieta Niemierka ◽  
Wandong Zheng

Heating and cooling sectors contribute to approximately 50% of energy consumption in the European Union. Considering the fact that heating is mostly based on fossil fuels, it is then evident that its decarbonization is one of the crucial tasks for achieving climate change prevention goals. At the same time, electricity sectors across the globe are undergoing a rapid transformation in order to accommodate the growing capacities of non-dispatchable solar and wind generators. One of the proposed solutions to achieve heating sector decarbonization and non-dispatchable generators power system integration is sector coupling, where heat pumps are perceived as a perfect fit. Air source heat pumps enable a rapid improvement in local air quality by replacing conventional heating sources, but at the same time, they put additional stress on the power system. The emissions associated with heat pump operation are a combination of power system energy mix, weather conditions and heat pump technology. Taking the above into consideration, this paper presents an approach to estimate which of the mentioned factors has the highest impact on heat pump emissions. Due to low air quality during the heating season, undergoing a power system transformation (with a relatively low share of renewables) in a case study located in Poland is considered. The results of the conducted analysis revealed that for a scenario where an air-to-water (A/W) heat pump is supposed to cover space and domestic hot water load, its CO2 emissions are shaped by country-specific energy mix (55.2%), heat pump technology (coefficient of performance) (33.9%) and, to a lesser extent, by changing climate (10.9%). The outcome of this paper can be used by policy makers in designing decarbonization strategies and funding distribution.


Author(s):  
Leon M. Headings ◽  
Gregory N. Washington

The goal of this research is to develop a framework for replacing conventional heating and cooling systems with distributed, continuously and electrically controlled, building-integrated thermoelectric (BITE) heat pumps. The coefficient of performance of thermoelectric heat pumps increases as the temperature difference across them decreases and as the amplitude of temperature oscillations decreases. As a result, this research examines how thermal insulation and mass elements can be integrated with thermoelectrics as part of active multi-layer structures in order to minimize net energy consumption. In order to develop BITE systems, an explicit finite volume model was developed to model the dynamic thermal response of active multi-layer wall structures subjected to arbitrary boundary conditions (interior and exterior temperatures and interior heat loads) and control algorithms. Using this numerical model, the effects of wall construction on net system performance were examined. These simulation results provide direction for the ongoing development of BITE systems.


Author(s):  
Xinli Lu ◽  
David R. Larson ◽  
Thomas R. Holm

Groundwater source heat pumps exploit the difference between the ground surface temperature and the nearly constant temperature of shallow groundwater. This project characterizes two areas for geothermal heating and cooling potential, Mason County in central Illinois and the American Bottoms area in southwestern Illinois. Both areas are underlain by thick sand and gravel aquifers and groundwater is readily available. Weather data, including monthly high and low temperatures and heating and cooling degree days, were compiled for both study areas. The heating and cooling requirements for a single-family house were estimated using two independent models that use weather data as input. The groundwater flow rates needed to meet these heating and cooling requirements were calculated using typical heat pump coefficient of performance values. The groundwater in both study areas has fairly high hardness and iron concentrations and is close to saturation with calcium and iron carbonates. Using the groundwater for cooling may induce the deposition of scale containing one or both of these minerals.


Author(s):  
Mohammad Omar Temori ◽  
František Vranay

In this work, a mini review of heat pumps is presented. The work is intended to introduce a technology that can be used to income energy from the natural environment and thus reduce electricity consumption for heating and cooling. A heat pump is a mechanical device that transfers heat from one environmental compartment to another, typically against a temperature gradient (i.e. from cool to hot). In order to do this, an energy input is required: this may be mechanical, electrical or thermal energy. In most modern heat pumps, electrical energy powers a compressor, which drives a compression - expansion cycle of refrigerant fluid between two heat exchanges: a cold evaporator and a warm condenser. The efficiency or coefficient of performance (COP), of a heat pump is defined as the thermal output divided by the primary energy (electricity) input. The COP decreases as the temperature difference between the cool heat source and the warm heat sink increases. An efficient ground source heat pump (GSHP) may achieve a COP of around 4. Heat pumps are ideal for exploiting low-temperature environmental heat sources: the air, surface waters or the ground. They can deliver significant environmental (CO2) and cost savings.


Author(s):  
Praveen Cheekatamarla ◽  
Vishaldeep Sharma ◽  
Bo Shen

Abstract Economic and population growth is leading to increased energy demand across all sectors – buildings, transportation, and industry. Adoption of new energy consumers such as electric vehicles could further increase this growth. Sensible utilization of clean renewable energy resources is necessary to sustain this growth. Thermal needs in a building pose a significant challenge to the energy infrastructure. Supporting the current and future building thermal energy needs to offset the total electric demand while lowering the carbon footprint and enhancing the grid flexibility is presented in this study. Performance assessment of heat pumps, renewable energy, non-fossil fuel-based cogeneration systems, and their hybrid configurations was conducted. The impact of design configuration, coefficient of performance (COP), electric grid's primary energy efficiency on the key attributes of total carbon footprint, life cycle costs, operational energy savings, and site-specific primary energy efficiency are analyzed and discussed in detail.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Limei Gai ◽  
Petar Sabev Varbanov ◽  
Timothy Gordon Walmsley ◽  
Jiří Jaromír Klemeš

To date, research on heat pumps (HP) has mainly focused on vapour compression heat pumps (VCHP), transcritical heat pumps (TCHP), absorption heat pumps, and their heat integration with processes. Few studies have considered the Joule cycle heat pump (JCHP), which raises several questions. What are the characteristics and specifics of these different heat pumps? How are they different when they integrate with the processes? For different processes, which heat pump is more appropriate? To address these questions, the performance and integration of different types of heat pumps with various processes have been studied through Pinch Methodology. The results show that different heat pumps have their own optimal application range. The new JCHP is suitable for processes in which the temperature changes of source and sink are both massive. The VCHP is more suitable for the source and sink temperatures, which are near-constant. The TCHP is more suitable for sources with small temperature changes and sinks with large temperature changes. This study develops an approach that provides guidance for the selection of heat pumps by applying Process Integration to various combinations of heat pump types and processes. It is shown that the correct choice of heat pump type for each application is of utmost importance, as the Coefficient of Performance can be improved by up to an order of magnitude. By recovering and upgrading process waste heat, heat pumps can save 15–78% of the hot utility depending on the specific process.


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