Abstract
Under a condition of sunlight exposure, the temperature of a parked car’s cabin will increase gradually. Compared to the ambient temperature, the inside and outside temperature will be different, which will be favourable for thermoelectric generators. This study investigated the temperature distribution pattern of a car parked in the direct sun using real and model cars. Performing different scenarios, we found that the car model equipped with a fan and a dimmer was the suitable approach to the real car model. Compared to the ambient temperature, results for both the real car and the model car indicated that heat rose drastically inside the car cabin. The calculation using the thermoelectric generator eTEG HV37 considerably could generate up to 6.9 mW per module. Therefore, by having a thermoelectric generator installed on an area of 1 m2 of the car roof, 280 W power could be generated.
Highlights
Heat from direct sunlight entering into the cabin of a parked car causes discomfort, and a variety of new problems, from inducing damage to the materials inside the cabin to distributing toxic chemicals
Thermoelectric technology works according to the Thomson effects, i.e., either by directly converting heat energy into electricity or, vice versa, by converting electricity to produce cold or heat
We investigated the optimum locations of hot spots inside the car cabin, where thermoelectric generators were located later
Summary
Heat from direct sunlight entering into the cabin of a parked car causes discomfort, and a variety of new problems, from inducing damage to the materials inside the cabin to distributing toxic chemicals. Keywords Parked car · Thermoelectric generator · Car temperature · Heat distribution
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