Recycling of waste heat produced from air-conditioning outdoor unit via thermoelectric generator for non-intrusive and clean energy harvesting

Muhammad Nur Aidid Ong, Siti Erina and Yang, Chuan Choong and Nor Hairin, Assayidatul Laila (2022) Recycling of waste heat produced from air-conditioning outdoor unit via thermoelectric generator for non-intrusive and clean energy harvesting. In: Global Cleanup Congress Kuala Lumpur 2022, IIUM Cultural Centre Kuala Lumpur. (Unpublished)

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Abstract

Non-renewable resources are depleting day by day. As an alternative source of non-renewable energy, one of the renewable and green energies which can be harvested by end users is from harvesting thermal energy from our surroundings. The air conditioning system produces a substantial amount of waste heat in its operation. This waste heat can be harvested and converted into electricity. Hence, this project focuses on harvesting thermal energy non-intrusively from the air conditioning outdoor unit using thermoelectric generator. Thermoelectric generator converts thermal energy into electricity. From the experiment, it was determined that the points with the highest temperatures were on the right side of the front grille of the air conditioning outdoor unit. Then, the thermoelectric generator was mounted using a cable tie on these points. The temperatures of the hot side and the cold side of the thermoelectric generator and the output voltage generated were measured. The data was collected again at different thermostat settings. These steps were also repeated with the heat sink attached to the thermoelectric generator vertically and horizontally. From these experiments, it can be observed that the optimum point to mount the thermoelectric generator was identified as point B which is at 3 o’clock position on the front grille of the air conditioning outdoor unit because it generated the highest value of RMS voltage data which is 3.31 mV without heat sink, 14.80 mV with vertical oriented heat sink and 13.93 mV with horizontal oriented heat sink. It was also determined that the most efficient way for the thermoelectric generator to harvest thermal energy is by attaching a heat sink on the cold side of the thermoelectric generator and the best air conditioning settings for thermal energy harvesting using thermoelectric generator is at thermostat setting of 16 °C. Thus, it is proven that the waste heat generated by the air conditioning outdoor unit can be harvested non-intrusively and in a clean harvesting manner.

Item Type:	Proceeding Paper (Slide Presentation)
Uncontrolled Keywords:	recycling waste heat; thermoelectric generator; heat sink; non-intrusive energy harvesting; air conditioning outdoor unit
Subjects:	L Education > L Education (General) T Technology > T Technology (General) T Technology > TK Electrical engineering. Electronics Nuclear engineering > TK2896 Production of electricity by direct energy conversion
Kulliyyahs/Centres/Divisions/Institutes (Can select more than one option. Press CONTROL button):	Kulliyyah of Engineering > Department of Manufacturing and Materials Engineering
Depositing User:	Dr Assayidatul Laila Nor Hairin
Date Deposited:	11 Jan 2024 11:48
Last Modified:	11 Jan 2024 11:51
URI:	http://irep.iium.edu.my/id/eprint/106986

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