S & P Coil Products Limited (SPC) have introduced a revolutionary Peltier heater to complement the MINIB range of trench and floor standing heaters. The new Peltier units are perimeter convectors which use the heat energy stored within the circulating fluid to power an integral fan. In such a way significantly more air is blown across the heat exchanger than would be available to conventional natural buoyancy convectors.
The unit takes advantage of an array of thermoelectric (Seebeck/Peltier) devices to generate the necessary emf (voltage) to turn the low voltage tangential fans fitted below the heat exchanger. Only hydronic pipework is required for the units to operate, no electrical wiring is necessary.
The units are available in a range of sizes from 1m to 2m lengths and can be floor mounted or wall mounted. The MINIB floor convectors are the first direct space heating devices which use thermoelectric technology to power their integral fans. As a result the output per linear metre of heating element is approximately double that of a conventional unpowered, natural convector unit.
Seebeck devices develop a voltage as a result of the temperature difference across each face of the semiconductor device. Arranging for a large number of such devices to be fitted in parallel provides the necessary emf to power the fan motors. This is possible through the use of low voltage DC motors, common to the MINIB range of convectors, which absorb very little power and will operate against voltages as low as 5V.
A small portion of the hot water supplied to the heat exchanger is bypassed through small bore pipes which are bonded to an array of series thermoelectric devices running the length of the convector unit. The associated electronics sum and smooth the generated emf before feeding it across the windings of the DC motor directly coupled to the tangential fan blades.
The MINIB Peltier units are differentiated by virtue of the volume flow rate of air that is drawn over the heat exchanger within the casing of the convector unit. A typical natural convector will induce sufficient airflow across its surfaces to provide a heating effect of approximately 500W per linear metre. The MINIB thermoelectric unit will provide volume flowrates through the heat exchanger of approximately three times those achievable through natural convection. Accordingly, heat outputs per linear metre of over 1kW will be achieved against the same set of hot water conditions.
The adoption of the thermoelectric devices within the terminal unit itself is a major advance in perimeter heating technology. The new product simplifies the installation of powerful heating equipment by removing the requirement for electrical power and simultaneously reduces the emissions associated with the power drawn from the grid. Never before has fan power been directly drawn from the circulating fluid as is now facilitated by the combination of thermoelectric devices and 12V DC motor technology.