Case Studies in Thermal Engineering (Feb 2023)
Economic-effectiveness experimental case study for instant cooling of drinking-water using Peltier module
Abstract
Portable picnic food thermoelectric fridge (COOLMAN Esky) is now abundantly available in the market showing increasing commercialized products using Peltier module. The efficiency of the recent thermoelectric modules has been enhanced so that a single 50 × 50 mm Peltier module can generate 100–250W cooling capacity. That is why, researchers enthusiastically work on different aspects of thermoelectric module in terms of performance improvement and providing new applications. However, economic cost evaluation is one of the main concerns in the application of Peltier module for heating/cooling aims. In this research, the application of thermoelectric module for instant cooling of drinkable water is evaluated mainly from economic cost viewpoint. It is tried to investigate the thermos-economic aspects of the mentioned process under different water flow rates and input power. To approach the aim of this study, the standard economic SPECO method is employed. The required basin information is obtained using a prototype experimental rig. The results indicates that the instant cooling of drinking water using thermoelectric is promising is design parameters and working condition are selected in a logical range.