Transient heat transfer studies on different positions of thermoelectric generator integrated solar air heaters for buildings

The use of solar air heaters for building in European countries is important as it helps in making the rooms hot during the winter. Due to the low energy conversion efficiency of passive solar air heaters, a constant flow of air is required. This flow can be achieved with the help of an airflow pump which is driven by electricity. The alternate source for providing the electricity to pump is a thermoelectric generator that generates the electricity with the help of solar radiation. The positioning of the thermoelectric generator is a new task that is investigated in the present work, two configurations, one on the placement of the thermoelectric generator over the absorber plate and the other at the house walls are investigated. A simulation model is developed in COMSOL Multiphysics 5.5 with the measurement of the temperature of thermoelectric material at different positions calculated. The results indicated that the placement of a thermo-electric generator at the absorber plate generates a temperature of 325 K which is more in comparison to when placed over the walls i.e., 312 K.