Development and Experimental Investigation of Portable Solar-powered Thermoelectric Cooler for Preservation of Perishable Foods
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: Preservation of perishable foods is a major issue where inconsistent electricity supply. In this study, a solar thermoelectric cooler (STEC) was fabricated by exploiting the solar energy and evaluated its cooling performance with and without product load. The STEC comprised of a thermoelectric module (TEM), inner and outer heat sink-fan fixed in the cooler box wall, and photovoltaic (PV) panel connected with the device through battery and PV charge controller. The PV power utilized to drive the device, charge the battery in the daytime, and the store electricity exploited during night time. The effect of varying input electric current on the cold side temperature of TEM, cooling capacity, power consumption and coefficient-of-performance (COP) were investigated. The results showed that the cold side temperature decreased to 5±0.2oC in 120 and 180 min for without and with product load (0.5 kg fish fillets), respectively. The cooling capacity, power consumption and COP of the STEC were 23.8 W, 53.5 W and 0.44, respectively, at the input electric current of 3.5 A. The battery power was utilized to drive STEC for 5-6 h after sunset. The STEC could be considered as an alternate green-option to the domestic refrigerator where electricity is not accessible.
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W3204125008