Thermoelectric coolers (TECs): from theory to practice

Abstract

Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) are solid state units, which provide reliable energy conversion with no noise or vibration. They are also lightweight and do not include any moving parts. the current coefficient of performance (COP) range of TECs has shown a trend of improvement, and TECs have a wide range of usage areas. Within the scope of this research, TECs are comprehensively evaluated in terms of several aspects such as type, material, design, modelling, thermal performance, potential applications, economic and environmental issues. It can be achieved through the results that the COP of TECs is highly dependent on the temperature difference between hot and cold side (T), and maximum COP is obtained when T is close to zero. It is also observed that COP can be enhanced by more than 55% when the hot side is thermally regulated by phase change materials (PCMs) or integrated with a water cooling unit.