Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) for potential air-conditioning applications in buildings

Refrigeration and air-conditioning systems consume about 15% of global electricity, and 46% of energy used in household and commercial buildings belongs to heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems. Vapor-compression technologies dominate the HVAC market, and the refrigerants used in these systems have hazardous effects on the global environment. In this respect, alternative cooling technologies are needed to be developed toward latest low/zero carbon building targets. Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are promising alternative systems for building space cooling applications compared to conventional vapour compression refrigeration (VCR) systems, as TECs do not use any refrigerant and they provide noiseless operation with their compact design. However their current coeeficient of performance (COP) ranges and cooling capacities are lower than those of conventional cooling systems. In this study, a systematic review of TECs is presented in terms of several aspects such as material type, design, thermal modelling, thermodynamic performance, building applications and environmental effects