Theoretical Analysis and Experimental Confirmation of the Performance of a Thermoelectric Refrigerator

The cooling load and coefficient of performance (COP) expressions for a thermoelectric refrigerator, which is composed of multi-elements, are derived with the consideration of heat transfer irreversibility in the heat exchangers between the refrigerator and the reservoirs. An experimental device is built for the performance investigation of the thermoelectric refrigerator. The device is used to evaluate the effect of external heat transfer on the performance of the thermoelectric refrigerator. The theoretical results are compared and confirmed with experimental results.