Highland Prince Academy Mauricio Calles Jorge Luis Aragon Karina Garcia Karina Enriquez How the Thermoelectric

Works

A thermoelectric module uses a difference in temperature between the hot plate and cold plate to produce a current. Given a heat source and a radiator, power of 20 Watts or more can be produced per module. Thermoelectricity, electricity produced directly from heat. The production of electricity from heat is called the Seebeck effect, after the German physicist Thomas J. Seebeck, who discovered the phenomenon in the 1820's. Thermoelectricity arises in an electric circuit in which two dissimilar conductors or semiconductors are joined at their ends. When one of the junctions is at a different temperature than the other, a direct electric current will flow in the circuit. For a given thermoelectric circuit operating in a given temperature range, the magnitude of the current depends mainly on the temperature difference between the two junctionin general, the greater the temperature difference, the larger the current. A typical thermoelectric module is composed of two ceramic substrates that serve as a foundation and electrical insulation for P-type and N-type Bismuth Telluride blocks that are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel between the ceramics. The ceramics serve as insulation between the modules internal electrical elements and a heat sink that must be in contact with the hot side as well as an object against the cold side surface. An electrically conductive material, usually copper pads attached to the ceramics, maintain electrical connections inside the module. Solder is most commonly used at the connection joints to enhance the electrical connections and hold the module together.

Both P-type and N-type materials are usually alloys of Bismuth and Tellurium and both have different free electron densities at the same temperature. The phenomena called the Seebeck Effect is what drives the module. When two different conductors are placed in contact, electrons flow from one to the other if the energy levels of the electrons are different in the two materials. The higher energy electrons cross the junction until the energy levels are the same on both sides. The thermoelectric module is made from two conductors whose energy levels change at different rates when the temperature changes. If the junctions are not at the same temperature, there are unequal differences in energy levels across the junctions. Thus, unequal numbers of electrons have to cross the junctions and unequal voltages are established. Since there is a net voltage around the loop, a current will flow.