Small Solid-State Refrigeration System

Abstract

Rural Nicaraguan villages need low-cost, low-power, easily maintainable home appliances. Refrigeration is of value for the applications of medicine and/or food storage. The research herein investigated whether a thermoelectric refrigeration system could be designed using less than 20 Watts of power with solar power cells previously installed on numerous houses located in rural villages within Nicaragua. This study is focused on the material properties and thermal performance of the system, as well as the manufacturability of the design. Modes of heat transfer that were tested included convection and conduction. It was concluded that conduction would be the better mode of heat transfer for an application with such low-power requirements. Early prototyping indicates that the design of the system meets the necessary temperature and power requirements for the proposed environment. Further prototyping and testing will be needed to prepare the design for low-cost, high-volume production.