Performance analysis of radiative cooling combined with photovoltaic-driven thermoelectric cooling system in practical application

Abstract

Since the energy crisis and global warming are always problems that people have to face, non-polluting and non-energy consuming cooling technology has become a research hotspot. In this study, a strategy combining solar photovoltaic, radiative cooling, and thermoelectric cooling (PVRC-TEC) is proposed to realize the adaptive regulation of heat load, which greatly achieves 24 h of uninterrupted cooling and saves power consumption and achieves zero emission and zero pollution. Both simulation and experimental methodologies were employed to evaluate the performance of PVRC-TEC system. Additionally, a case study was conducted on a 16 m2 building. It is shown that the PVRC-TEC system had higher performance when the area ratio of photovoltaic cells to radiative cooling films was 0.3 and the number of thermoelectric cooling modules was 6. The average cooling power of the system is 8709.88W, which is 120.8% of that of the commercial air conditioner. Compared with the commercial air conditioners, the equipment cost required by this system can save 14807.27 ￥, which is 64.4% of air-conditioning costs. The PVRC-TEC system can fully meet the required daily cooling capacity. In practical application, it has great potential and advantages, providing potential solutions to the energy crisis and global warming.