Performance evaluation of solar air heater with and without thermoelectric generator

Abstract

Solar air heater (SAH) an economical and eco-friendly thermal system for drying products and have been used in plenty in the agricultural sector. This paper deals with a comparative study on the performance evaluation of SAH with and without thermoelectric generator (TEG) to self powered the system to create forced circulation using self power and external power. Extensive theoretical analyses for agricultural produces were observed. With the inclusion of the TEG module, there was an energy savings and an improving the drying performance with respect to the decrease in moisture content. It is concluded that with TEG gives 32.50% higher solar drying efficiency than without TEG without any additional solar radiation input.