Who are the Major Target Markets of Thermoelectric Coolers?

The tec-thermoelectric cooler modules are moderately flexible in the ways that they can be used, so the applications where they are used also be inclined in several ways. As they are versatile in nature the tec-thermoelectric cooler are easily to be used by the applicants.

a.       Thermal Cycling Applications

Biomedical, TCU, Chillers, Instrumentation — since the thermoelectric modules can be used for both heating and cooling, a common application category is thermal cycling. There are abundant applications that require thermal cycling. One major application is DNA augmentation which stems from the biomedical field. This application provides high durability under a heavy duty temperature cycle. The Ferrotec's 72-Series thermoelectric modules combine the newly developed thermoelectric material with added technology which is specifically designed for thermal cycling applications. The peltier thermoelectric model delivers drastically longer operational life during thermal cycling and high throughput to increase productivity.

b.      Telecom/Opto-Electronics

Laser, Photo Diode, Cold plate — Peltier thermoelectric module are often used to move heat from lasers and heat-generating optical components to allow augment performance. Telecom components are subjected to very high-consistency testing criteria, and Ferrotec's 20 Series thermoelectric modules are designed to surpass that reliability performance to that verge. Ferrotec has demeanour Telcordia GR-468-CORE testing on the 20 Series of modules along with reliable supplementary testing that verifies the products reliability.

c.       Deep Cooling Applications

CCD, IR Cooling, Sensors — using a thermoelectric to compel component temperatures far lower than the normal can increase the sensitivity of detection of the components. Deep cooling is often mandatory to cool detectors, CCD and other sensors that make thermoelectric modules a critical component in these systems. Thermoelectric modules are more compact, lighter, and easy to manage than any other cooling methods within an array of milieus and applications. Ferrotec's 20 Series thermoelectric modules offer deep cooling due to advanced material efficiency that facilitate the components to operate at low temperatures which results in increasing the efficiency.

d.      Consumer Applications

Wine Cabinet, Mini-Refrigerators, Air Conditioners — Consumer applications usually utilize thermoelectric to provide cooling and temperature control in applications where conventional cooling systems wouldn't be sufficient.  As the thermoelectric models are small in size and weight, has the ability to cool below ambient, and no moving parts make it advantag4eous to use TECs infinite. Ferrotec is one of the leading high volume manufacturers of thermoelectric that enables them to offer valued customers over 260 standard modules types from their full range product line at very competitive pricing.

e.      Power Generation

Waste Heat Recovery, Remote Sensor Power, Emergency Power Sources — conventionally electrical power is applied to a thermoelectric to heat or cool, nevertheless heat can also be applied to any thermoelectric module to generate a small amount of power. This basic concept allows for any system to generate power under certain conditions.

Ferrotec NORD is formed by a group of thermo electricians in Moscow in 1991. They have maintained a high rank about their products and have always focussed on manufacturing hi-tech products. They are recently the world's leading manufacturer of thermoelectric (Peltier) cooling and generating modules.

Buy the best quality thermoelectric generators from Ferrotec

 In the year 1821, Thomas Seebeck observed that, when heat is transferred between two objects, an electromagnetic field is created. Since then, scientists have been experimenting with the electromagnetic field. They have been able to convert electromagnetic field into electricity with the advent of Heat Electricity Generators. Thermoelectric generators have a large scale application in fields which range from household appliances to spacecraft technology. So how does this technology work? Heat Electricity Generators are devices which work in a similar way to solar panels but coverts heat, instead of sunlight, directly into electricity. A thermoelectric generator is generally made of bismuth telluride semiconductor junctions which are only millimeters thick. This varies hugely from the bimetallic junctions that were previously in use as they were much thicker. Thermoelectric generators do not usually have any moving parts, other than a fan, and can be used in a wide variety of applications for generating electricity.  

How do Thermoelectric Generators work?

A Thermoelectric generator has a piece of metal such as bismuth tellurium, through which heat is transferred. The metal is highly heat resistant and has a low thermal conductivity. When the heat goes through the piece of metal, it gets converted into electricity and can then be transmitted to a conductor or even directly to an electric device. Usually, a number of thermoelectric generators are connected to each other in a series for the purpose of generating as much electricity as possible.

Advantages

There are numerous advantages of thermoelectric generators. Mainly for the reason, that thermoelectric generators enable systems to restore heat that is otherwise wasted in the form of either exhaust or mechanical waste. Thus they are environmentally friendly. In addition, thermoelectric generators retrieve heat that occurs naturally, such as the heat churned out from geothermal vents, volcanoes, hot springs, or high-atmosphere applications. Usually, heat is not purposely produced for a thermoelectric generator, as this would result in an overall loss of electricity and other resources. Thermoelectric generators are most efficient when it is needed to retrieve heat over 250 degrees Celsius. Also these devices can be applied to any heat source regardless of their size, ranging from a water heater to manufacturers equipment.

Applications

Thermoelectric generators are utilized in a wide variety of applications, but usually in situations where there are few energy sources or a great deal of heat goes in waste otherwise. Thermoelectric generators are most significantly used in the aerospace industry for powering space shuttles, space probes, and satellites with the heat produced from the radioactive decay which radioactive substances generate. Such types of thermoelectric generators are known as a Radioisotope Thermal Generators (RTG). Scientists are carrying out experiments for also using thermoelectric generators in automobiles to utilize the wasted heat that is produced from exhaust fumes and cooling agents.

Ferrotec is a highly acclaimed, diversified technology company whose thermal solution business unit designs and manufactures superior quality Peltier coolers for heat-pumping, thermal cycling and specific temperature control. Ferrotec is the most sought after company for custom thermoelectric modules which deliver top-class performance with steady manufacturability. 

How does Tec Thermoelectric Cooler works? By Ferrotec Nord

 Thermoelectric coolers are often regarded as peltier cooler or thermoelectric module. This device is known to be a semiconductor based electronic component which functions as a small heat pump.

A low voltage DC power source is applied to a Tec thermoelectric cooler so that the heat will be transferred via the module from one side to the other side.   Therefore, the one module face will be cooled when the opposite face is heated simultaneously.  It is very essential to note that the phenomenon could be reversed whereby a variation in the polarity of the applied voltage of DC will lead the heat to move in the opposite direction. 

 A Tec thermoelectric cooler can be utilized for both cooling and heating and that is why the device is highly suitable for   the temperature control application.

The general idea of a Tec thermoelectric cooler:

•          If a general single stage thermoelectric module is placed on a heat sink which was maintained at basic room temperature, and the module is connected to a suitable battery or other poor source of DC, the cold side of the thermoelectric module would cool down to estimated forty degree C. at this time, the thermoelectric module would be generating almost no heat. The module would have reached its maximum rated DeltaT. 

•         If the heat is gradually added to the cold side of the module, the particular side temperature would increase until the heat sink temperature is regulated. During this time the thermoelectric cooler would have gained its maximum rated heat pumping capacity.

•         Both the mechanical refrigerators and the thermoelectric cooler are operated by the same fundamental laws of refrigeration systems and thermodynamics.

•          In a mechanical refrigeration unit, a compressor increases the pressure of a liquid and circulates the refrigerant via the system.

•          When the electric current is passed via a conductor having a temperature gradient over its length, the heat will be either expelled from the conductor or absorbed by it.

•         Whether the heat is expelled or absorbed, the function of the cooler entirely depends upon the direction of both the temperature gradient and the electric current. This phenomenon is regarded to be the Thomson effects.

This technology is far less commonly applied to the application of refrigeration than the vapour compression refrigeration.  The several benefits of a thermoelectric cooler compared to a vapour compression refrigerator are the lack of the circulating liquid or moving parts, small size, very long life and flexible shape.  The major disadvantages of a thermoelectric cooler are poor power efficiency and high cost.  Many major companies and researchers are trying to develop the peltier coolers which are cheap yet efficient.

The Ferrotec Nord Corporation is the proven leader of this field.  This company   provides the customers with a wide range of peltier cooler and thermoelectric modules which are really cost effective. If you are wondering which will be the best place to buy the modules from, the Ferrotec Nord Corporation would be your ultimate guide. 

Things to Know About Thermoelectric Module

Thermoelectric module or commonly known as TEM, is a device which works on the basis of Peltier effect, that allows turning heat into electricity or vice versa. Silent operation, solid design, absence of moving parts and vibrations as well as removal of hazardous materials like any gas or fluid are some of the advantages of this particular device.

Ø  In the telecom industry, this particular product is used to provide cooling for transition lasers, photo –diodes, as well as to stabilize the temperature of optical channel. Over the last few years this has become one of the essential machines in the industry.

Ø  The Biomedical industry, also gains profit from this  device in DNA analyzers and various temperature stabilization equipment

Ø  The Automotive industry also uses this thermoelectric module, for in-cabin refrigerators, climate seats in which there is some uniform heating and cooling with optimized air distribution and also for air conditioning and electric power generation.

Ø  Not only in the arena of industrial sector, but thermoelectric module is also used in various consumer products like picnic boxes, water chillers and many more.

Ø  TM can also provide spot cooling or heating. Recently there is a huge demand for spot cooling. The demand for Spot Air conditioners are increasing in the market.

Any thermoelectric module works on the basis of Peltier effect. When, electric power goes through a contact of two different current- conducting materials, one gets hotter and the other gets cool. This is the way how thermoelectric module works. This particular effect can also have a reversal role for generating electricity when the hot part of the thermoelectric module receives a heat flux. As said earlier, thermoelectric module can act both as a cooling or heating element when precise temperature calibration is needed for various technological purposes.

Types of TEM

Ferrotec Nord has developed a huge range of thermoelectric module and each is built for different type of task.

Ø  Single stage- This is a type of thermoelectric module which can generate up to 73 degree Celsius differentiate between hot and cold sides.

Ø  Multistage TEM’S- This particular module offer a higher temperature than those single stage ones.

Ø  Micro TEM’S- This is a thermoelectric module downscaled for applications where small sixe matters.

Ø  Cycling TEM’S- This is used when a quick change of temperature is needed.

Ø  Generating TEM’S- This is used to generate electricity from the heat supplied to it.

There are certain ways over choosing of a thermoelectric module.

Commonly in most of the application, the thermoelectric module ensures the difference between the ambient temperature and the cooled object temperature through the heat removal from the object to the heat sink.

While choosing a module, it should be remembered that, full thermal load Q_c  comprises the capacity needed to cool the object and various other types of heat, which inflows from outside owing to heat emission and heat conductivity of the elements installed in the device.

This is the only device which performs various activities from a single unit system, both in the industry and in the consumer forum. 

All you need to know about a Thermoelectric cooler

A Thermoelectric cooler which is commonly called as a thermoelectric module or Peltier cooler, is actually a semiconductor based electronic device that works as a small heat pump. In this particular device, if a low voltage DC power is applied then the heat will move through from one side of the device to another. Then, one side of the module will remain heated and the other side will cool down.  A thermoelectric cooler may also be used both for heating and cooling and henceforth is has been recognized as the most suitable and preferred temperature control application.

The working of a Thermoelectric cooler is not really very complex as rocket science. It is quite simple and a little bit of orientation will help everyone to control this device.  A single- stage thermoelectric cooler is placed on a heat sink which is maintained at the room temperature. The module, after that is simply connected to a battery or some other DC power source. Immediately the temperature of the cold part of the module will go down below the freezing point that is around -40°C. Here, the module will pump no heat as it has reached its maximum rated DeltaT. Only if heat is slowly and steadily added to the module’s cooler side, the temperature rises till the time it reaches the equal proportion of the heat sink value. This is the point, where a thermoelectric cooler reaches its maximum heat pumping capacity.

In a mechanical refrigeration unit, an entire compressor raises the pressure of a liquid and circulates the refrigerant through the system. In the evaporator and freezer area the refrigerant boils and it absorbs heat causing the freezer to become cold. In a thermoelectric cooling equipment a doped semiconductor material fundamentally takes the place of the liquid refrigerant, then the condenser is substituted by a heat sink and the compressor is replaced by a DC power source. The application of this power to the thermoelectric cooler causes electrons to move through the semiconductor.

A little bit of old story which is described as history is also important for introducing a thermoelectric cooler. Back at, 1821 a German scientist, Thomas Seebeck got an idea that an electronic current would flow endlessly in a closed circuit made up of two dissimilar metals only if the junctions of those metals were maintained at two variable temperatures. Again after few years French watch maker and a part time physicist Jean Peltier, in the course of investigating the Seeback effect, observed that there was absolutely a different phenomenon, where the thermal energy could be absorbed at one dissimilar metal junction and gets discharged at the other,  when an electric current flowed within the closed circuit.

Now, there are certain industrial platforms where a thermoelectric cooler is used:                                                                                                                                                   

Ø   Industrial electronics and Telecommunication

Ø  Thermoelectric cooling conditioners and assemblies with different functions

Ø  Thermoelectric cooling devices

Ø  Temperature control of various systems

Ø  Heat flow analyses

Ø  Production of semiconductor assimilated microchips

Ø  Laser equipment

Ø  Equipments for medicine

Ø  Transport industry

Ø  Food

Ø  Special equipment for various industries.

How to Do Cooling with a Peltier Module?

Peltier Module is a solid state active device which is often used for generating the cooling effect. Hence used in many applications for industrial and household things. Because of cooling facility they are used to design some portable coolers which can be used to carry food to the beach or in water dispenser.

They are not as much efficient as only approximately 5% electrical energy used to power them, is enough for cooling. Hence we planned a simple efficiency test as shown in the picture. Here we will not test the module directly. Instead of it we will test the efficiency by the time it could cool the 250 ml of water and how much cool the water is.

Please note that mainly two different types of peltiermodules are used mostly – Thermoelectric coolers (TEC) and Thermoelectric Generator (TEG). TEC is used to generate the cooling effects and hence used for refrigeration system while TEG used for converting the temperature difference into electricity.

Here we will test thermoelectric coolers. Please consider the below image of water dispenser from the back and also the parts I took from for this testing.

How Peltier Module Works?

The peltier module was stuck to the back of heat sink with thermal paste. A fan is attached to another side of heat sink for sucking the air through the fan and carry away heat through it. The whole thing was sat up on jars so there'd be room below for the air to flow away.

A thermocouple is inserted between the separate containers of warm water. The peltier module will be shut off by the control board if the thermocouple keeps the right temperature of water for water dispenser. We did not concentrate on maintaining the temperature. Instead of it, I tricked it by sitting it in water whose temperature would never change. As a result the control board wouldn't shut off the Peltier module for that reason.

We next sat a square piece of aluminum on the Peltier module to transfer heat from the can more effectively, which would be sitting on top of the all of the module's surface. Also we sat a soda can on the top and top is opened and bottom is flattened as much possible. After this; insulation is added around the top to take heat from the water in the can instead of surrounding air. Next, we poured 250 ml of water. A thermometer was then inserted inside, one that could measure cold temperatures. And lastly, the hole in the top of the can was covered with more insulation.

Finally oscilloscope I connected in parallel with the electrical output of the control board going to the peltier module. After this; ammeter was connected in line with the positive wires going from the control board to the Peltier module. The circuit was turned on using the on/off switch and the starting water temperature was recorded. The voltage and current had an initial few second long surge and then settled down. Their values were then recorded. For further information visit @ http://ferrotec-nord.com

Thermoelectric Generators: The New Revolutions of Power Generators

Thermoelectric generator is a class of solid state active devices which works on the phenomenon of seebeck effect. The device is used to either convert the heat energy directly into electricity or vice versa means transform electrical energy into thermal energy for generating the heat or cool effect. The see beck effect or thermoelectric effect accomplish this task by a process of generating electric current by thermocouple and keeping the connection formed by two different metals at different temperatures. The efficiency goes up to 5 to 10 percentage.

Now a days may types of thermoelectric generator are available in market for various purposes like Radioisotope thermoelectric generators, household generators, industrial power generators and automotive thermoelectric generator. All these power generators are used for mainly used in applications like heat engines and sterling engines. The engines that produce more heat waste like combustion engine are mostly used for this type of applications. However, glaring problem which appears in such situations is output resistance and adverse thermal characteristics.

It seems that they work just like same as engine powered generators to produce electricity yet there is major difference. The ordinary engines give very annoying sound whereas the thermal generators form the electricity silently or do not produce noise while working. The main reason behind this is that electricity is produced by TE generators without the movement of any part instead of a cooling fan.

It is right to say that this is revolutionary engine temperature is cool down by the cooler when it flows from the burner to many thermo an electric device towards the direction of cooler. A voltage is created across the generator by the thermal flow of thermal energy.

The flow thermal power in TE generators creates a very high voltage across the thermocouples and causes very high voltage circulations in the primary ring due to high performance crystalline semiconductors.

The thermoelectric generators are highly reliable because of its strong construction. Hence, this is being used in many military and aerospace applications for several years. Hence the same is being used in many military and aerospace applications for several years. This is because of its main features; the power can be concentrated or consolidated to maintain an ample output to rum many applications at same time. The patented internal circuit, which converts the generated amperage into effective voltage, is the main feature of it. And hence most of industries are using it.

Ferrotec Nord is one of the leading manufacturing companies of thermoelectric products. They produced more than 250 designs of Peltier modules of various design, capacity, voltage, supply current and geometry to meet the demand of the thermoelectric module market and specific customer needs.  Also if the customer does not found the same according to his requirements, they are ready to design in accordance with their requirement of special geometry, shape, specifications or special use.

For further information visit @ http://ferrotec-nord.com

Let’s Know about Bismuth Telluride Thermoelectric Material

Thermoelectric materials are used in thermoelectric device for generating cooling and heating effects. The most common uses of these materials are to regenerate the electricity from waste heat at electric power plants. These are available as per high strength or low cost materials. The low cost materials which have strong sufficient thermoelectric effect are used in applications including power generations and refrigeration. We mostly use in such applications bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) thermoelectric material.

Basically for manufacturing high quality thermoelectric module, the selection of thermoelectric material is affected by several factors such as:

·        Electrical Conductivity

·        Thermal Conductivity

·        Seebeck Coefficient

·        Temperatures Change Behavior

 After choosing a material its usefulness is decided by the material’s power factor and device efficiency.

As most of the company use high-efficiency material Bi₂Te₃ and high temperature solders for generating thermoelectric modules, so we discuss about this in detail.

Bismuth Telluride (Bi₂Te₃):

It is a grey powder which is compounded from bismuth and tellurium. We also know this as bismuth (lll) telluride. For portable power generation and refrigeration we alloy this thermoelectric material with antimony and selenium in a semiconductor. It is also known as topological insulator and hence exhibits many thickness dependent physical properties.

Why use as thermoelectric material?

Bismuth telluride has a thin gap layered semiconductor which has trigonal unit cell. Due to van der waals bonding, it cleaves easily along with trigonal axis between neighboring tellurium atoms. Because of this feature we always use polycrystalline bismuth telluride (Bi₂Te₃) for power generation and cooling applications. Apart from this, the Seebeck coefficient of bismuth telluride metal becomes compensated around the room temperature. Due to which it is forced to be used in power generating devices and having the alloy of bismuth, antimony, tellurium and selenium.

As bismuth telluride thermoelectric material and its solid solutions are good at room temperature, hence, it is also suitable for refrigeration applications around 300 K. A method named Czochralskiis used to grow single crystalline bismuth telluride compounds. These compounds are produced with directional solidification from melt or powder metallurgy processes. The produced material has superior mechanical properties and sensitive to structural defects and lower impurities due to high optimal carrier concentrations.For more information visit @ http://ferrotec-nord.com/support/thermoelectric-modules