Performance investigation of Photo Thermoelectric Air-conditioning system (PTE-AC) for self-sustainable building

In hot-dry countries such as Saudi Arabia, the abundance of daylight, hot and dry climate conditions have incited to use air conditioning (A/C) system for space conditioning purpose. According to the data given by International Energy Agency (IEA 2019) in year 2019 quoting that almost 1.6 billion of A/C frameworks are running globally in order to provide thermal comfort to the occupant resulting in consumption of approximately 6% of the overall final energy. Out of 79 % Saudi electrical energy is consumed by buildings' sectors where almost 65% of the total energy used for heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Most of the A/C systems use refrigerant as their working fluid due to its high evaporative characteristic. This working fluid has high Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP) and Global Warming Potential (GWP), causing harm to the environment in catastrophic way. Hence, the development of air conditioning system that has least impact to the environment, such as air cooling system by thermoelectric cooler (TEC) has become the highlighted issue in recent years. TEC becomes a good option for cooling system due to its beneficial over conventional A/C system, such as the absence of auxiliary pipes and moving parts, Freon free and able to perform under severe environment. In recent years, researchers envisaged the potential of TEM and started to integrate it in building cooling application. Self-sustainable air conditioning system can be developed by powering TEMs directtly with electrical energy produce from the solar photovolatic system. Thus in this study an air duct(AD) consists of Photovoltaic panel on one face of the duct and Thermoelectric module on the middle portion of duct will be fabricated to reduce the heating and cooling load of the buildings. This systems is coined as Photo thermoelectric air conditioning system (PTE-AC) which rely on solar energy source for space conditioning. Photo voltaic (PV) panel attached on one face of an AD converts solar energy into electrical energy. This electrical energy is directly provided to thermoelectric module attached at the center of an AD for creating hot and cold chamber. A Perspex sheet will be introduced at the focal point of the AD to house thermoelectric module(TEMs). It will be intended to isolate the AD into two compartments where the air will be cooled in one compartment and warmed in the other by the TEMs. The ambient air is circulated inside the building via PTE-AC system with the help of a fan. The fan is calibrated in a manner such that it automatically changes speed subject to the temperature outside the building so as to attain a homeostatic condition. PTE-AC framework gives Freon free, less carbon dioxide and energy-consuming solution to the air conditioning issue of the buildings when contrasted with conventional air conditioning framework.