An Approach to Thermoelectric Module Selection: Analytical Simulation and Experimental Test

Peltier cells are Thermoelectric Coolers (TEC) used as solid-state heat-pumps in a wide range of applications, from thermal management of electronic devices to biomedical sector. Each application requires specific operating condition of the TEC module; therefore, a proper characterization is essential to optimize its performance within an energy system. This work describes a method combining analytical and experimental analysis to guide the choice of the proper thermoelectric module throughout the design process of an optimized energy system. The results are expressed as the Coefficient of Performance (COP) as a function of the cooling power for two different pressure conditions: high vacuum (pressure below 10-5 mbar) and low vacuum (pressure around 4 mbar). These results show that an analytical model, developed using thermoelectric parameters measured within the experimental setup, effectively reproduces the experimental data and predicts the COP for other boundary conditions.