IJRET: International Journal of Research in Engineering and Technology eISSN: 2319-1163 | pISSN: 2321-7308 _______________________________________________________________________________________ Volume: 05 Issue: 04 | Apr-2016, Available @ http://ijret.esatjournals.org 347 CONVERSION OF DESSERT COOLER INTO LOW COST AIR CONDITIONER USING PELTIER MODULE Ashwani Sharma 1 , Mayank Kumar 2 , Rajeev Ranjan 3 , A. Adharsh Krishnan 4 1 Assistant Professor, Mechanical and Automation Department, Amity University Lucknow 2,3,4 Mechanical and Automation Department, Amity University Lucknow Abstract This paper describes design and fabrication of dessert cooler with certain modifications so that it can be used as low cost air conditioner. The cooling in conventional cooler is done along Wet Bulb Temperature line that reduces Dry Bulb Temperature but simultaneously it increases specific humidly. This paper aims to reduce this humidity with the use of peltier module. This system provides better results than that of conventional cooler. The only disadvantage observed; is long time required to get the desired cooling effect. Keywords: Dessert Cooler, Peltier Module, Dry Bulb Temperature, Wet bulb Temperature --------------------------------------------------------------------***---------------------------------------------------------------------- 1. INTRODUCTION A dessert cooler is a device that cools air through the evaporation of water [1]. The temperature of dry air can be dropped significantly through the phase transition of liquid water to water vapour (evaporation), which can cool air using much less energy than refrigeration. The air supplied by the conventional air cooler is generally 80–90% relative humidity; very humid air reduces the evaporation rate of moisture. High humidity in air causes corrosion. The only two mechanical parts in most basic evaporative coolers are the fan motor and the water pump which requires very low maintenance. This paper presents a peltier moduledriven dehumidification system to control humidity in traditional cooling system. It is low cost and low power consumption system that can find a wide range of applications in urban as well as rural areas. 2. BACKGROUND The heat transfer not only depends on temperature gradient but also on humidity content in the air. In rainy season or in coastal areas though the temperature of the surrounding is less, but we still feel hot because humidity is more [2]. Higher humidity at a given temperature leads to difficulty in heat transfer. For a water droplet to evaporate it absorbs energy that is Latent heat, the amount of heat that is needed to evaporate the liquid, is drawn from its surroundings thus cooling the surroundings. A phenomenon that happens in porous earthen pots that leads to the water inside to be cooler. Desert coolers are based on the simple principle that when unsaturated air comes in contact with water, the water evaporates. In the process, the moisture content of air increases, while its temperature decreases [1,2]. The resulting cold but moist air is used for providing cooling. Keeping the above in mind, desert coolers employ the processes of cooling adding to humidification (increase humidity). This increasing humidity makes us uncomfortable and its needs to be reduced. Figure 1: Evaporative Cooler The thermoelectric effect is the direct conversion of temperature differences to electric voltage and vice versa [3]. The device working on this principle known as Peltier module. The "hot" side is attached to a heat sink so that it remains at ambient temperature, while the cool side goes below room temperature [4].