Effective power factor and thermoelectric figure of merit

Abstract

The work reviews and calculates effective values for the figure of merit and the power factor of a thermoelectric (TE) element which are obtained in the optimizing process of the performance parameter (power output and efficiency) of the element. Especially the difference to the classical Ioffe theory [1] is highlighted if a temperature and/or spatial dependence of the TE material coefficients (Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity) are taken into account.