air cooling and making electricity the peltier way

[SOLiiD]

not too sure if this is good enough to be off-topic... it goes to anything really. I just want to apply it to a bug.

I got one of those electric iceless coolers off cl just for the peltier module. for this idea of some DIY AC. The bugs roofline might look a little finny. I dunno, just an idea.

[Komissar]

The ideea is "cool" and tempting indeed, but it doesn't seem to be practical.
According to Wikipedia, a typical A/C unit draws about 4hp or 3Kw of power - that's 3000 Watts. And it would appear that the efficiency of Peltier modules is even less than that of a conventional A/C unit using a pump and refrigerant.

A typical 45Amp bug alternator will deliver 12V*45Amp=540Watts. (considering Power=Amperage*Volts ) - this means that you are a long way from achieving the necessary power for your cooling needs. And the problem gets worse considering the lesser efficiency of Peltiers.

However, I must admit I have played with this ideea also, and even bought some Peltier modules from Ebay. They "seem" to be working, but also is clea that they require a lot of work in order to achieve any practical results.
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1965 Sunroof Beetle
1972 Type 3 Squareback
1978 Skoda 105S

[Danwvw]

Now are you saying you want to bolt this thing somewhere hot and cool the other side and make electricity? They are just forward biased diodes with heat sinks. Or to put it another way a thermo pile. Probably similar technology to a plutonium powered thermo electric generator.
Here: http://www.mpoweruk.com/thermoelectricity.htm
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1960 Beetle And 1679cc DP W-100 & Dual Zeniths!

[Letterman7]

Too much amp draw for little return. Works great for an enclosed cooler, or even in the newer Mercedes seat "air scarf" setup, but for a/c.. nope. Researched that years ago for my old Sterling, bought the two largest Peltiers I could find at the time and with testing, they just couldn't keep up with even a cloudy day. What most people don't understand is that you must separate the two sides of the unit, much like a VW engine. Forced air over one side of the unit (usually has built in cooling fins) is crucial, else the unit just doesn't function as it should.

[Cusser]

Thermodynamics laws don't agree with this line of thinking.
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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[SOLiiD]

Cooling, its good enough for a seat cooler/heater. Req's too much W/I to be efficient. Its a basic idea technology from the early 1800's. Needs refinement.

The idea for generating electricity with it is to mount a few of these with headsinks in the roofline and the ceiling. Air flows over the roofline heatsinks cooling that side, on the inside the heatsinks get heated from the cabin heat generated from bodies and heater ducts. This of course would work much betting in the cold, just an idea I had this past winter living in colorado.

Could use it to charge a bank of super capacitors or a battery.

A more efficient use would be for a off-grid cabin in the winter time.