It sounds familiar, but…what is the Peltier effect?
The Peltier effect was discovered in 1834. When current passes through the junction of two different types of conductors it results in a temperature change. However, the practical application of this concept required the development of semiconductors that are good conductors of electricity but poor conductors of heat – the perfect balance for TEC performance. Today, bismuth telluride is primarily used as the semiconductor material, heavily doped to create either an excess (n-type) or a deficiency (p-type) of electrons.
