DIY COOLER BOX
SK ST. MICHAEL IPOH
About the Project
This project ains to construct a DIY cooler box with a plastic container, aluminium heat sink, aquarium water chiller, CPU cooling fans, temperature sensor, and six pieces of Bismuth Telluride Peltier Cell TEC12715, with the application of Peltier Effect. The project determines the optimal electric voltage and current values to achieve the fastest cooling rate for the Mini Cooler Box through five sets of experiments. Conventional cooling systems typically use refrigerant gases such as ammonia, CFCs, HCFCs, and HFCs. When leakage occurs, these gases not only pollute the environment, deplete the ozone layer, and cause global warming, but also pose health hazard to humans. Furthermore, the accumulation of faulty refrigerators in landfills surely creates additional negative environmental impacts. In line with SDG 13 (Climate Action), this project aims to design a mobile cooler box powered by Peltier Cells that does not pollute the environment, does not contribute to global warming, does not require refrigerant liquids or compressor motors like conventional refrigerators, and is easy to build, user-friendly, durable, and affordable for most consumers. The DIY Cooler Box is equipped with a 4-meter waterproof 5.0V motion-sensor LED strip, allowing users to conveniently see in the dark or at night.From the five sets of experimental studies conducted, the DIY Cooler Box demonstrated the fastest temperature reduction rate (best cooling performance) of 1.28 °C per minute when supplied with 10.41 volts and 5.19 amperes to a single Peltier Cell TEC12715. Under these conditions, the temperature decreased by 14.1°C, from 30.9°C to 16.8°C within 11 minutes. The DIY Cooler Box consumes minimal electrical power of only 165.81 watts, compared to 300–800 watts for a conventional domestic refrigerator , meaning it is significantly more energy-efficient. Based on related journal references, the cooling capacity of the DIY Cooler Box can be further enhanced in six ways, including, installing a water jacket, water pump, and water-ethylene glycol solution , installing a radiator of appropriate size , adding a 0.02 cm thick aluminum plate under the cooler box lid , using inverted trapezoid-shaped cooling fins , designing a heat sink with a three-bifurcation microchannel structure , and implementing a Double Embedded Flat Heat Pipe (EFHP) finned heat sink and a Gravity-Assisted Heat Pipe (GAHP) on the hot surface of the Peltier Cell.