Performance Characteristics of Thermoelectric Generator Modules For Parallel and Serial Electrical Circuits

An experiment has been performed in order to investigate the characteristics of multiple thermoelectric modules (TEMs) with electrical circuits. The open circuit voltage of TEM connected parallel circuit is equal to the sum of individual TEMs. In contrast, the open circuit voltage is equal to the average of that individual TEM for a series circuit. The power output and conversion efficiency of TEM for both parallel and series circuits increase as the operating temperature conditions for individual TEMs becomes identical. Comparing parallel with series circuits, the power generation performance is more excellent for series circuit than parallel circuit. This result is attributed to the power loss from the TEM with better power generation performance.