Investigation of the Energy Conversion Efficiency for a Thermoelectric Generator System with Forced Convection Cooling

This study experimentally evaluates thermal and electrical characteristics of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) based energy system. TEG module will convert a part of the thermal energy generated by a heating element into electrical power when a temperature gradient
$\Delta\mathrm{T}$
is established between its cold and hot plates. This energy conversion system also contains a finned plate heatsink with a cooling fan and one 12V DC/120oC aluminum PTC heating element used here to simulate the thermal behavior of a microprocessor unit with fast temperature increasing under load. Some critical parameters of this thermoelectric system, like the hot and cold TEG temperatures, the output current and voltage, TEG output power and energy conversion efficiency, were analyzed in detail. The control variable considered was the load resistance, modified at values between 1
$\Omega$
and 40
$\Omega$
.