Waste Heat Recovery from a Drier Receiver of an A/C Unit Using Thermoelectric Generators

Abstract

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are considered promising devices for waste heat recovery from various systems. The Seebeck effect can be utilized to generate power using the residual heat emitted by the filter dryer receiver (FDR) of an air conditioning (A/C) system, which would otherwise go to waste. The study aims to build a set of thermoelectric generators (TEG) to collect the waste heat of the FDR and generate low-power electricity. A novel electrical circuit with two transformers is designed and fabricated to produce a more stable voltage for operation and charging. The thermoelectric generator (TEGs) was installed on the FDR of the A/C unit. The test showed that climate conditions have a significant impact on the output power generated from the system. The results showed that the peak voltage recorded in the current study is 5.2 V per day (wet, cold, and wind weather) with an output power of 0.2 W. These values are acceptable for powering the load and charging a single battery with 3.5 V as the voltage increases battery 0.1 V/20 min charge. A case study of operating the emergency signs in a building was considered. The current heat recovery system is deemed to be easily installed and can be connected to a network of TEGs to produce more power.