An automotive thermoelectric energy system with parallel configuration for engine waste heat recovery

In recent years, there has been active research on exhaust gas waste heat energy recovery for automobiles. In this paper, the thermoelectric energy system with parallel configuration is proposed and implemented for automobiles. Compared with the series-connected thermoelectric energy system, the parallel-connected thermoelectric energy system offers higher overall efficiency with bidirectional converter because that only partial power is handled. The experimental results show that the parallel-connected configuration is a competitive option for automobile thermoelectric energy system.