Peltier Effect Cooling - Experiments with a Peltier Cooler Device

Today we will be doing some “science experiments” with a popular thermoelectric cooling device, the TEC1-12706 Peltier Module. We will also learn about the Peltier and Seebeck Effects.

Article with more details: https://dbot.ws/peltier

In 1834 a French physicist named Jean Charles Athanase Peltier discovered that passing a current through two dissimilar metals could create either an increase or decrease in temperature at the junction of the two metals.

This phenomenon is known as the Peltier Effect.

Modern Peltier Coolers are semiconductor devices, While they are not as efficient as conventional air conditioning they still have many practical uses.

Peltier coolers are used to cool down hot CPU and GPU chips in high-end computers, to power portable coolers, to cool the water in water dispensers, and even to reduce heat in spacecraft.

Today we will do some experiments with the TEC1-12706, a very common and very inexpensive Peltier cooler module. It’s easy to use, and a lot of fun to play with!

We will see how the device works and learn about the Peltier Effect and the Seebeck Effect, the complementary effect that can convert heat into electricity. We will even make some ice on the workbench!

We’ll also test a popular Peltier Cooling assembly that you can get on eBay and use to build a personal cooler.

Here is what is in store for you today:

00:00 - Introduction
02:50 - Learn about the Peltier Effect
04:48 - TEC1-12706 Module
08:02 - Experiment 1 - Hooking up the module
09:50 - Experiment 2 - Making Ice
12:24 - Experiment 3 - Generating Electricity
14:32 - Using a Peltier Cooler Assembly

As always you’ll find an accompanying article on the DroneBot Workshop website at https://dbot.ws/peltier.

Keep cool and have fun!