Peltier Module

How a Peltier module works

The Peltier Effect, the cooling of one junction and the heating of the other when an electric current is maintained in a circuit consisting of two different conductors; the effect is even stronger in circuits containing different semiconductors. In a circuit consisting of a battery joined by two pieces of copper wire to a length of bismuth wire, a temperature rise occurs at the junction where the current passes from copper to bismuth and a temperature drop occurs at the junction where the current passes from bismuth to copper. This effect was discovered in 1834 by the French physicist Jean-Charles-Athanase Peltier.

Uses

It is for devices that need to be cooled fast within limited space. The hot side of the Peltier module is attached to a heatsink which in turn is attached to a fan, as the air passes through the heatsink it pulls away warmth creating an overall cooling effect of the machine housing said Peltier module. Commonly found in CPUs as when they are processing they are creating a large amount of heat that could damage the chips and burn them out. Even the wear and tear would increase if the chips are not cooled as they perform computing tasks, which is why the cool side is attached to the CPU. Even at an average of 5% efficient the Peltier module is useful.

Consuming less power at a small scale is another plus with the Peltier Module as computers today run on very little electricity, the need for efficiency is great as resources become more expensive. At a large scale, it is too inefficient to have any uses currently.