Solar powered thermoelectric cooling apparatus

• Main Author: LEVINSON; LIONEL M
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 30.03.1993
• Subjects: BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; ELECTRICITY; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; MEASURING; MEASURING ELECTRIC VARIABLES; MEASURING MAGNETIC VARIABLES; PHYSICS; PROCESSES OR MEANS, e.g. BATTERIES, FOR THE DIRECT CONVERSIONOF CHEMICAL INTO ELECTRICAL ENERGY; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ARTCOLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS; TESTING

A thermoelectric module powered by a solar cell is used to cool a battery which serves as a backup power supply in a time-of-use power meter. Solar irradiation incident on the power meter containing the battery, of sufficient intensity to result in heating of the battery, concurrently causes the solar cell to generate an electric current. If the battery temperature rises above a predetermined level, the thermoelectric module cools the battery in dependence on the power generated by the solar cell.