US-12624866-B2 - Energy efficient pulsing thermoelectric system

US12624866B2US 12624866 B2US12624866 B2US 12624866B2US-12624866-B2

Abstract

A method for increasing the performance of a thermoelectric system with one or more thermoelectric assemblies to provide heating, cooling, and ventilation through electrical pulsing. The thermoelectric assemblies are individually controllable with constant or pulsing controls so that the performance of the thermoelectric system can be increased. In a multi-assembly system, the thermoelectric system is comprised of thermoelectric assemblies, a control unit that determines the optimal pulsing conditions, and fans to supply and exhaust heating or cooling to an occupied space.

Inventors

Berardo MATALUCCI
Theodorian Borca-Tasciuc

Assignees

MIMIC SYSTEMS INC.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220303

Claims (6)

1 . A controller adapted for controlling a thermoelectric assembly, the controller comprising an input configured to receive power to power the controller, the sensors, and the thermoelectric assembly of the present invention; an output configured to supply power to the thermoelectric assembly; a processor configured to control the power that is supplied to the thermoelectric assembly connected to the controller using dynamic intermittent pulses that are unique in intensity and duration for a specific moment in time; wherein the thermoelectric assembly has a coefficient of performance defined by the cooling or heating rate divided by the power supplied to the thermoelectric assembly; and wherein the processor is configured to maximize the average coefficient of performance of the thermoelectric assembly using the intermittent pulses.
2 . The controller of claim 1 , where the processor supplies power to the thermoelectric assembly in a plurality of intermittent pulses only.
3 . The controller of claim 2 , wherein the intermittent pulses are supplied for a duration in a range of 5 to 20 seconds with an interval of 10 to 20 seconds between each consecutive pulse of the intermittent pulses.
4 . The controller of claim 3 wherein the duration of or interval of the intermittent pulses is adjusted to increase the coefficient of performance of the thermoelectric assembly.
5 . A method of controlling a thermoelectric assembly, the method comprising the steps of: powering a controller using a power supply; using a controller powered by the power supply to power the thermoelectric assembly; wherein the power from the controller is supplied using a plurality of intermittent pulses, wherein the intermittent pulses are unique for a specific moment in time, wherein the thermoelectric assembly has a coefficient of performance defined by the cooling or heating rate divided by the power supplied to the thermoelectric assembly, and wherein the controller determines the intermittent pulses to maximize the average coefficient of performance of the thermoelectric assembly when the power is supplied to the thermoelectric assembly using the intermittent pulses.
6 . The method of claim 5 wherein the intermittent pulses are supplied for a duration in a range of 5 to 20 seconds with an interval of 10 to 20 seconds between each consecutive pulse of the intermittent pulses.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates generally to a thermoelectric system with improved efficiency through the use of a controller that provides pulsing current. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With global urbanization, humans spend more time indoors, living in highly thermally controlled environments. The use of energy intensive, refrigerant-based technologies to provide this thermal control increases greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and has detrimental effects on global warming. For such thermally controlled environments, there is typically one or more habitable spaces (i.e., an occupied or interior space), where heat transfer is controlled, and an exterior environment where heat is sourced or rejected. Weather conditions, including solar radiation, tend to change throughout the year, months, and even on an hourly basis making it difficult to control how much heat to provide or remove from an occupied space to ensure thermal comfort. Since humans each experience thermal comfort uniquely due to their physiological and psychological unique responses, there exists the need to develop heating and cooling systems capable of predicting, responding, and adapting to a variety of human preferences while responding to fast-changing weather conditions. Numerous techniques have been developed since the beginning of recorded time to provide heating and cooling to occupants. Modern techniques which provide heating and cooling to occupants include the use of vapor-compression technologies for space heating and cooling. This technique has been the dominant system over many decades, and it has been proven to be effective for building applications. However, this method is limited in providing variable temperature of the air that exits the coils, due to limitations of the vapor-liquid cycle of the employed refrigerants (i.e., the temperature at which refrigerants change phase). This lack of variability can cause thermal comfort issues to users, such as thermal asymmetry, or the inability to distribute or remove heat uniformly, resulting in occupied areas that are either too cold or too warm at certain times. As a result, the ability to respond to varying user preference and adapting to diverse ambient conditions is limited with such a system. Another technique to provide heating and cooling is through the use of a thermoelectric modules (i.e., solid-state heat pump or thermoelectric heat pumps), which carries heat from one zone to another through a solid-state medium (such as semiconductors, i.e., bismuth telluride) using electricity, to maintain a precise temperature in an occupied space and to avoid using ozone-depleting materials, like refrigerants. However, thermoelectric modules suffer from low energy efficiencies. Generally, the amount of heat that can be pumped across a thermoelectric device is proportional to the amount of electrical current required to operate the module itself, but it reaches a point of diminishing return (i.e., where the thermoelectric device needs to work so hard to dissipate more heat that additional heat cannot be pumped without the expenditure of an impractical amount of energy). Efforts have been made in the prior art to increase the efficiency the thermoelectric modules by pulsing the electrical current across the thermoelectric module instead of applying a constant current. A pulsing (i.e., pulsing electric current) generates a transient effect within the thermoelectric module whereby there are two distinct phases: a) an increase in heat pumped and temperature differential across the thermoelectric module; and b) a decrease of heat pumped and a reduction of temperature differential across the thermoelectric module due to the end of the electrical pulse. However, the prior art to date only takes into account the efficiency of the thermoelectric modules when developing the control algorithm to use in connection with the pulsing of electrical current. However, for thermal comfort applications, it must be understood how electrical pulsing affects the supply and removal of heat from an occupied space. Additionally, these prior art thermoelectric heat pump systems do not respond to dynamic conditions (i.e., the occupant temperature preference or ambient conditions), because they have been designed around fixed boundary conditions (i.e., temperature differential across the module). Accordingly, there is a need for improving the efficiency of a thermoelectric module and to develop a system that can respond to dynamic conditions while maintaining the desired heating or cooling capacity. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A method to improve the efficiency of a thermoelectric system in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention is provided. The thermoelectric system comprises one or more thermoelectric assemblies. Each thermoelectric assembly is comprised of at least one thermoelectric module (also known as a thermoelectric device) with two heat exchangers, one on each side of the thermo