k wrote:

The code name, Space Beast, was one they came up with in the wee hours of the night.
Tyler Lyon, Daniel Winegar and Chad Thornley were overtired and giddy as they tackled a science fair project. Their idea: Eliminate the use of Freon in automobile air-conditioning systems by relying on the Peltier effect - of course.

[ Call for research.

Mainly though, i want to know the details of this because the claim seems to be that taking the gasoline, converting it to electricity, and powering a stack of peltier devices is more efficient than directly driving a compressor for the ac. Presumably the same number of fans would need to be run electrically for either.

Peltier coolers are inefficent. It takes about three watts to move one watt of heat from one side, all of which then must be dissipated on the hot side. Typical air conditioners at home may run into 12:1 or 17:1 in the case of Japanese air conditioners, which is one watt of energy spent moving 12 or 17 watts of heat. I've seen portable air conditioners which consume 1KW and have an EER of 9 and cost $500. But that's a portable cooler or datacenter emergency bailout device.

It's a nice idea, but I don't think it's very practical.

RE: Salt Lake Tribune - Utah