Design and Experimentali Nvestigation o Fa Novel Thermoelectric Water Dispenser Unit
Design and Experimentali Nvestigation o Fa Novel Thermoelectric Water Dispenser Unit
Design and Experimentali Nvestigation o Fa Novel Thermoelectric Water Dispenser Unit
Research Paper
H I G H LI G H TS
A RT I C L E I N F O A BS T RA CT
Keywords: In this study, a novel thermoelectric water dispenser unit is proposed to supply cold and hot drinking water
Thermoelectric effect simultaneously. For this purpose, the heat sinks attached to the cold and hot surfaces of a Peltier module are
Peltier element
placed into the cold and hot water tanks of the thermoelectric water dispenser. Supplying power to the ther-
Heating-cooling
moelectric module, the cold water tank is cooled while the hot water tank is heated at the same time. The cooling
Water dispenser
and heating performances of the system are examined for three cases: the tanks made of glass walls without
insulation; the tanks made of polyethylene walls without insulation: and the tanks made of polyethylene walls
with insulation. Results show that water tanks with polyethylene walls have better thermal performance than
those with glass walls. Furthermore, insulation of the tanks has a significant enhancement in COP especially on
the heating side. Results of this study also indicate that TE water dispenser can compete with conventional types,
with the advantages of being environment-friendly, smaller, silent and operable with renewable energy sources.
https ://doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2018.11.028
Received 16 February 2018; Received in revised form 7 October 2018; Accepted 7 November 2018
Available online 07 November 2018
1359-4311/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
A. Çağlar Applied Thermal Engineering 149 (2019) 822–828
823
A. Çağlar Applied Thermal Engineering 149 (2019) 822–828
heating in winter and space cooling and water heating in summer using as follows. Zang et al. [31] developed a solar TE cogenerator that can
a thermoelectric device. perform both heating and electricity generation. Allouhi et al. [32]
The cooling performance of TE cooler has been investigated by performed a theoretical analysis of a TE heating system for an office
several authors in different modes experimentally and theoretically room and obtained 64% reduction in energy use as compared to the
[9,10]. Chen et al. [11] investigated the optimization of heat transfer conventional electric heater. An open-type TE space heating system
area allocation of four heat exchangers for maximizing the cooling load with multiple channels is developed by Liu et al. [33] and they ob-
and the coefficient of performance (COP) of a combined TE generator- served 1.3 heating COP. There are few works on both cooling and
refrigerator device. Modified pulse operation of TE cooler for building heating by TE modules. 5.0 and 1.0 heating and cooling COPs were
cooling was proposed by Manikandan et al. [12] and it could provide a achieved respectively in the performance analysis of a TE air heating/
COP value of 1.01, which was higher than the normal mode of opera- cooling unit at different TEC voltages and fan speeds [34]. The potential
tion. Soprani et al. [13] used a topology optimization model to optimize application of TE heating/cooling system for residential buildings is
the design of a TE cooler for different operating conditions and to de- studied using 16 TE modules [35]. TE radiant heating/cooling panel is
fine the optimal working conditions of the system and they applied the used for air-conditioning systems [36]. PV TE cooling/heating system is
new methodology on an electronics unit. Dişlitaş et al. [14] developed a proposed for gaining space cooling and hot water simultaneously [37].
parabola algorithm to determine maximum current, voltage and thermo A TE module is operated in the combination of water cooling and
emf, and hence the performance of TE modules, based on measure- heating modes [38]. Hot and cold streams are used to circulate water
ments of temperature, current and voltage. Tipsaenporm et al. [15] through the heat sinks clamped together both sides of TE module and
performed an application of a direct evaporative cooling system for passes through the hot and cold water tanks respectively, so a combined
improving the performance of a compact TE air conditioner, they thermoelectric heater and cooler is achieved for the first time. The total
achieved 40.6% increase in the cooling capacity, and 20.9% increase in COP (heating + cooling COP) of 4.5 is obtained and drawback of high
the COP. Tan et al. [16] proposed a TE cooling system integrated with temperature difference between module surfaces is discussed in the
phase change material (PCM) for space cooling such that PCM stored study. As seen in the literature, only cooling or only heating applica-
cold thermal energy at night and functioned as a heat sink to reduce hot tions are generally performed and a few studies are carried out on si-
side temperature of TE modules during day-time cooling period and multaneous heating/cooling application. Furthermore, most of these
thus increased the COP of the system from 0.5 to 0.78. An experimental applications are generally based on air conditioning. Simultaneous
performance analysis of mini-channel water cooled-TE refrigerator for water heating/cooling application is encountered only in Ref. [38]. In
different voltages and flow rates was presented by Gökçek et al. [17]. In that study, water is circulated through the surfaces of TE module and
another study on water-cooled TE cooler, effect of water mass flow rate rejects/takes heat to/from the tanks using HXs. It did not cover water
on performance is investigated using temperature control strategies tanks contacting directly with TE module as in case of a water dispenser
under severe environment for prevent condensation and saving energy unit. This study is unique as it covers simultaneous water heating/
[18]. Heat dissipation mechanisms employed to remove waste heat cooling in separate tanks supplying conditioned drinking water as a
from the cold side of a TE device were reviewed and summarized by water dispenser. In the study, a novel water dispenser unit is proposed
Sajid et al. [19]. Joshi et al. [20] developed a TE fresh water generator by applying a Peltier element on the hot and cold sides of a portable
for the people in coastal and humid regions with relative humidity water dispenser. In conventional water dispenser systems, a compressor
above 60% having scarcity of drinking water. An efficient thermo- and resistance heater are used for cooling and heating of the water
electric distillation system was designed and constructed for production inside the cold and hot water tanks, respectively. In this study, how-
of drinkable water [21]. Yıldırım et al. investigated experimentally a ever, both cooling and heating of water are performed simultaneously
portable desalination unit using a TE cooler [22]. by using the cold and hot surfaces of a single TE device. Since TE ele-
Commercial TE devices are generally operated in the longitudinal ment is more compact and smaller, a system that is smaller, lighter and
mode such that the heat flow is parallel to the electrical current. therefore more portable than a traditional water dispenser system is
Transverse TE devices, on the other hand, can produce thermoelectric obtained. TE water dispenser is also a cleaner production due to having
effects in which the electrical and thermal flows are perpendicular to no any refrigerant. Furthermore, since the surface temperature of a
one another [23–25]. Qian et al. [26] examined cooling performance of thermoelectric device is directly proportional to the input of electricity,
a hypothetical transverse TE device and concluded that transverse re- the temperature of the system can be controlled easily and precisely. In
frigerators might offer higher cooling capacity with some sacrifice in addition, since water dispensers require low powers, it is also possible
COP when compared to their longitudinal counterparts. Reitmaier et al. to develop a PV-assisted TE water dispenser unit, which can be driven
[28] compared the performances of transverse and conventional long- by the electricity generated from PV installed on the top and sides of the
itudinal thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and they have pointed out that the system. As a clean energy technology without air and noise pollution,
performance of transverse TEC made of metal semiconductors as mul- and being different from conventional types, the novel TE water dis-
tilayered is lower than that of conventional longitudinal TEC made of n- penser enables the production of hot and cold drinking water and will
and p-type semiconductors, but transverse TEC devices are more com- find widespread utilization in public spaces. So, the current study can
pact, smaller and have a more easily accessible hot/cold sample surface. be a first step in implementing TE modules in new thermal applications
In this study, Peltier element is applied on a water dispenser unit like instant water conditioning and can lead to new designs and in-
that is used frequently for hot and cold drinking water supply in public vestigations in this area.
places. Peltier elements are generally used for a single purpose: cooling In the study, variations of temperatures of cold and hot water tanks,
or heating. Cooling applications can be reviewed as follows. A nano- power consumption of Peltier element and cooling/heating perfor-
fluid cooled multiport minichannel heat exchanger coupled with ther- mances of the system have been investigated for three cases. Case I, II
moelectric cooler is designed for cooling the electronic devices [28]. and III define the use of glass walls without insulation, polyethylene
Results showed that cooling of the TE module by nanofluid gived lower walls without insulation and polyethylene walls with insulation re-
water cabin temperatures and higher COP values than that by pure spectively for the prototype. The water temperatures and performances
water. To improve the energy conversion efficiency of TE cooling for each of the cases are evaluated and compared with each other.
system, TE module is combined with water-cooling to reject heat from
the hot side effectively [29]. It was reported that minimum water 2. Material and method
temperature could be obtained by increasing the electrical current input
and decreasing the heat sink thermal resistance for a TE cooler using The main components of the TE water dispenser unit are the Peltier
water as refrigerated object [30]. Heating applications can be reviewed cooler, cold and hot water reservoirs and power supply that supplies
824
A. Çağlar Applied Thermal Engineering 149 (2019) 822–828
825
A. Çağlar Applied Thermal Engineering 149 (2019) 822–828
Fig. 1. Schematic of TE water dispenser unit. Fig. 3. (a) Heat sink; (b) Thermal paste used in the system.
electricity at the appropriate voltage (12 V). Since the rest of the water advantages of −50 to 90 °C temperature resistance, no microorganism
dispenser design (package, taps, water supply etc.) is only concerned formation, impermeable, low thermal conductivity. Using separate
with configuration, safety and control, the other components are out of polyethylene plates, the hot and cold water tanks were isolated from
scope of the study. The schematic of the system is shown in Fig. 1. A each other, thus preventing heat transfer between the tanks. The cold
prototype is designed and manufactured to test the system for each of and hot sides of the Peltier element are embedded in the middle of the
the three different cases: the reservoirs made of glass walls without polyethylene plates. The heat sinks, however, remain in contact with
insulation; the reservoirs made of polyethylene walls without insula- water in the tanks. Thus, heat is transferred from the hot surface of the
tion: and the reservoirs made of polyethylene walls with insulation. A Peltier element to the fin and then from the fin to the water on the
series of experiments are conducted for each cases, and measurements heating side, while heat is transferred from the water to the fin and then
are recorded. The main components and assembled situation of the from the fin to the cold surface of the Peltier element on the cooling
system are explained in the following sections in detail. side. In the second and third prototypes, all walls of the water tanks are
3
made of polyethylene plates. The size of the tanks is 10 × 15 × 15 cm .
2.1. Peltier element
2.4. Liquid seal and silicone
In the system, 12 V (max 6 A) 4 × 4 cm Peltier element is used. The
view and technical specifications of the Peltier element used are given
Silicone is used to assemble the glass or polyethylene walls to each
in Fig. 2. When electricity is applied, one surface of the Peltier element
other, thus sealing is achieved. Heat-resistant silicone is chosen due to
heats while the other surface cools depending on the phase connection.
its steady properties at high temperatures. As the polyethylene plates
Thus, a temperature difference between the surfaces occur depending
are combined with the Peltier element, liquid seal with high adhesive
on the physical properties of two thermoelectric materials in the Peltier
power and high freezing rate is used, so a good heat insulation as well
element. GW Instek GPS-3030DD DC power supply is used to provide
as sealing are obtained.
constant voltage for the TE device.
Technical Specifications:
• Model : TEC1-12706
• Dimensions : 4 x 4 x 0.38 cm
• Feed Voltage : 12V
• Vmax (V) : 15V
• Imax (A) : 4-6 A
• Max. Power (W) : 72 W
• Feed cable length : 30 cm
• Weigth : 22 g
• Color : White
Fig. 2. View and technical specifications of the Peltier element.
826
Fig. 4. (a) Power supply; (b) Type T thermocouple; (c) Digital oscilloscope; (d) Data logger.
surface temperature of the heat sinks are checked for maintaining the Cold tank temp. 60
Peltier element at appropriate operating conditions. All temperature 60 Hot tank temp.
Temperature (oC)
seen in Fig. 4. 50
Voltage and current supplied to the Peltier during the experiments 40
45
are measured by a digital oscilloscope. While the voltage is measured
30
directly, the current is measured by using a shunt resistor. As known, 40
input current changes depending on the voltage applied to the Peltier 20 35
element and temperature difference between the hot and cold surfaces.
For an accurate measurement, instantaneous changes are determined 10 30
by the oscilloscope. The average power consumption by the Peltier
0 25
element is calculated using the accurate measurements for the time 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
intervals selected. The views of DC power supply, thermocouples, di- Time (minutes)
gital oscilloscope and data logger are given in Fig. 4.
Fig. 6. Variation of temperatures and power consumption with time for glass-
wall prototype without insulation (Case I).
3. Results and discussion
The view of the first prototype of the system proposed is given in decreases slowly with time and temperature gradients are smaller than
Fig. 5. The Peltier element is placed between the hot and cold water that in the hot water tank. The cold water tank temperature decreases
tanks. The fins are attached to both surfaces of the Peltier element. to 5.6 °C after 60 min. It can be concluded that the hot side of Peltier
Tests are performed for three different cases. In Case I, all the walls of element is performing more efficiently than the cold side for the spe-
the tanks are made of glass except for the walls where the Peltier ele- cified conditions and simultaneous heating/cooling processes. On the
ment is mounted. No insulation is applied to the walls. In Case II, all the other hand, the power consumption of the Peltier element decreases
walls are made of polyethylene plates and not insulated. In Case III, the with time. During the experiments, it is observed that the amount of
walls are made of polyethylene plates and insulated. During the ex- current drawn by the Peltier element decreases with increasing tem-
periments, the temperatures of hot and cold water tanks and ambient perature difference between its surfaces when a constant voltage is
temperature are measured and their changes over time were recorded. applied. For this reason, the power consumption decreases with in-
The maximum hot water temperature and minimum cold water tem- creasing temperature difference. The power consumption varies from
perature obtained from the system are determined for each case. 56.7 W to 36.6 W while the temperature difference between the hot and
A series of experiments were conducted with the experimental cold water tanks varies from 0 to 41.6 °C. The reason for this is the fact
setup. Temperatures (from 5 points for each tank) and total power that both heating and cooling capacities decreases with the increasing
consumption, calculated by accurate readings of instantaneous voltage temperature difference of the Peltier sides.
and current values, are recorded with 5-min time intervals during 1 h. In Case II, the walls of the tanks are all made of polyethylene plates.
Initial water temperature for each cases is taken as 20 °C which is the The building material of the model, which is a design condition, has
temperature of tap water. The volume of the water put into the tanks is been changed keeping the tanks’ volumes and Peltier element the same
2 L for each. and maintaining the system uninsulated. Using the same initial tem-
The data obtained for the prototype made of uninsulated glass walls perature (20 °C), variation of temperatures inside the water tanks and
is given in Fig. 6 for Case I. As seen in Fig. 6, the temperature of the hot the power consumption of the Peltier element is investigated. The ob-
water storage tank increases linearly at the beginning. The increase in servation results are shown in Fig. 7.
the temperature slows down after a certain time. After 60 min, the hot As seen Fig. 7, temperature gradients for both heating and cooling
water tank reaches 47.2 °C. The temperature of the cold water tank sides are higher than in Case I. Using polyethylene plates instead of
glass, the temperature of the cold water decreases down to 4.1 °C in the
cooling side, while the temperature of the hot water increases up to
50.1 °C in the heating side in the period of 60 min. In the both sides, so
the cooling and heating sides, the temperature gradients are higher at
beginning of the processes, then the gradient decreases with time. This
is actually due to the decrease in heating/cooling capacities and COP of
the Peltier element with increasing temperature difference between the
hot and cold sides. When comparing with Case I, in Case II the cold
water temperature is reduced by 1.5 °C more than in Case I, while the
hot water temperature is increased by 2.9 °C more than in Case I. On the
other hand, the power consumption of the Peltier element varies from
48.7 W to 32.7 W during 60-min period. Power consumptions seem to
be lower than in Case I depending on the higher temperature differ-
Fig. 5. First prototype. ences in Case II since more temperature difference between the hot and
Cold tank temp. 60 60
60 Hot tank temp. 60
Temperature (oC)
Temperature (oC)
10 30 10 30
0 25 0 25
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (minutes) Time (minutes)
Fig. 7. Variation of temperatures and power consumption with time for poly- Fig. 9. Variation of temperatures and power consumption with time for poly-
ethylene-wall prototype without insulation (Case II). ethylene-wall prototype with insulation (Case III).
200 200
180 Case I 180
160 Case II
160
140 Case III
140
Cooling Rate (W)
120 120
100 (filled markers) 100
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
(unfilled markers)
0 0
0 10 20 30 40 50 60
Time (minutes)
Fig. 8. Prototype made of polyethylene walls with insulation. Fig. 10. Variation of the cooling and heating rates of Peltier device with time.
3.00
is compared with the uninsulated case (Case II). On the other hand, the
prototype with uninsulated glass wall has the lowest COPH values.
2.50
Case I Performance values of Peltier devices can reach to 4–5 at ideal
2.00 Case II conditions, namely at zero temperature difference between two surfaces
Case III and for optimal values of voltage and current. Peltier elements are ty-
COPC
1.50 pically used for cooling (especially for electronic cooling), and high
performance can be achieved if the hot side is cooled well. In this study,
1.00 the use of Peltier element for both heating and cooling purpose causes
lower performances than the ideal case.
0.50
4. Conclusions
0.00
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 In this study, a novel TE water dispenser is developed by using a
Time (minutes) Peltier module that can perform both cooling and heating of drinking
water simultaneously. For this purpose, two water tanks are used as
Fig. 11. Variation of the cooling COP of Peltier device with time.
cold and hot water storage device for the TE water dispenser. One of the
tanks is cooled by the cold side of the Peltier element while the other is
4.00 heated by the hot side of it. This novel system enables to setup a water
3.50 dispenser unit that provides conditioned drinking water at appropriate
temperatures depending on climatic conditions.
3.00
The TE water dispenser are investigated experimentally for three
2.50 different cases and a number of tests are performed for each case. In
COP H
2.00
Case I, the water tanks are made of glass walls without insulation. In
Case II, the water tanks are made of polyethylene walls without in-
1.50 sulation. In Case III, the tanks are made of polyethylene walls with
Case I
1.00 insulation. Variation of water temperatures, power consumption of the
Case II
0.50 Peltier element, and cooling/heating performances (COPC/COPH) of the
Case III
system are investigated. Results show that the Case III, i.e. prototype
0.00
made of polyethylene walls with insulation, has the best thermal per-
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 formance. The insulation of the system has a significant effect on the
Time (minutes) thermal performance of the system as expected. In Case III, minimum
Fig. 12. Variation of the heating COP of Peltier device with time. cold water temperature on the cooling side is obtained as 1.3 °C while
maximum hot water temperature on the heating side is obtained as
3.2. Cooling and heating COP of Peltier element 61.5 °C at the end of 60-min time period. The cooling and heating COPs
for Case III are obtained as 2.90 and 3.95, respectively. When two
To evaluate the performances of the Peltier element in cooling and uninsulated cases are compared with each other, the prototype with
heating, the cooling and heating COP (coefficient of performance) can polyethylene walls has better thermal characteristics than that with
be calculated by the following equations, respectively: glass walls. Results also show the novel TE water dispenser can be
competitive with conventional types with its advantages such as smaller
Qa (mcp T )CW / t and compact design, environmentally friendly and noiseless operation
COPC = = and being operable with renewable energy sources like solar energy.
WP IP ·VP (5)
Consequently, this is the first project to use a TE module in a water
Qr (mcp T )HW / t dispenser unit. The TE water dispenser unit is experimentally proven to
COPH =
= achieve simultaneous water cooling and heating operation and meet the
WP IP ·VP (6)
The positive effect of the insulation on the mean heating performance of
In these equations, COPC and COPH represent the cooling and the system occurs at about 45% level when the insulated case (Case III)
heating coefficient of performance respectively. WP is the power con-
sumption by the Peltier element (W). IP and VP are the current (A) and
voltage (V) drawn by the Peltier element, respectively.
The variation of COPC of the system over time for each of the three
cases is given in Fig. 11. The cooling COPs for the Cases I, II and III vary
between 2.26–0.24, 2.46–0.28 and 2.90–0.42, respectively, during 60-
min period. The COP values decrease with time due to the lower cooling
capacities at higher temperature differences. The best cooling perfor-
mance is obtained in Case III. Case III has higher COPC values than the
other cases except for t = 15 min. In conclusion, the insulation of the
system in Case III provides about 22% increase in the mean COPC
compared to the uninsulated system in Case II.
The variation of COPH of the system over time for all cases is given
in Fig. 12. The heating COPs for the Cases I, II and III vary between
2.41–0.32, 3.07–0.79 and 3.95–1.19, respectively, during 60-min
period. The COP values decrease with time due to the lower heating
capacities at higher temperature differences between two sides of the
Peltier element. The best heating performance is obtained in Case III.
need for conditioned drinking water in this study. As a future work, a
solar assisted TE water dispenser unit will be carried out by mounting
PV panels on the roof and solar-facing sides of the unit to supply
drinking water in open public spaces. PV modules can thus supply
electricity power to the TE module. Total area of PV modules can be
determined by the capacity of TE module. It should be noted that the
capacity of TE module used in this study is 72-W. The larger the TE
capacity, the larger the cooling and heating rates obtained.
References