Introduction of TEG

TEG is the abbreviation of thermoelectric generator, which can convert heat directly into electricity, totally opposite to TEC. TEG can be used as anti-corrosion protection for oil pipeline and gas pipeline and it can also be used as a power supply for monitoring facilities.

The principle of TEG

The operating principle of TEG is based on Seebeck effect found by Tomac Norahh, a German physicist. In an open circuit of two different conductors, if there is temperature difference between two contacts, this circuit will produce electromotive force. It means that with the temperature gradient moving from high temperature region to low temperature region, the electrons in the heated object can produce electric current or electric charge accumulation.

The advantages of TEG 

1 TEG can be used for a long time without shelf life limits and it also does not require special maintenance;　

2 Thermopile operation and the generated voltage are both stable, and there is no short circuit phenomenon;

3 Because of no rotary parts, TEG produce no noise. When comparing with mechanical thermoelectric generator of DC power supply, this advantage is more obvious. 

 

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The Brief Introduction to TEC

In 1821, Thomas Seebeck discovered when two conductors with different materials and different temperature are connected, there is current flowing in the loop However, twelve years later, J. C. Peltier discovered an opposite phenomenon, that is ,by deleting a conductor in the loop, the external current can flow through the loop, and then a temperature difference between two connecting points is appeared. This phenomenon came to be known as Peltier Effect. Owing to the limitation of material at that time, the temperature difference in Petier Effect is mostly the thermal resistance produced when large current flows through the materail. Along with the development of material science in recent years, the heating or cooling effect of the connection point becomes more practical, which can be used as heat pumps. In actual application, there's no much difference with the cooling method that is based on fluorine carbon vapor compression refrigeration. There are no moving parts and working fluid in TEC, so it makes refrigeration equipment miniaturization possible.

Basic Operational Principle

Since the Peltier Effect can be linearly controlled by the current, TEC has been used in a large number of applications involving precision temperature control. Temperature sensitive component, TEC, and temperature sensors (thermistors) are integrated in a single module. TEC control requires a power supply with reversible electrical level to provide positive and negative voltage. If you'd like to make this in the single power supply, then H bridge circuit can be utilized. Strong and pulse width modulation (PWM) controls two output voltages, which   change the current flowing through the TEC as well as the current direction. Through constant changing of the current, small sized TEC can control the temperature of all kinds of discrete devices, such as optical fiber laser driver, precision voltage reference, or any other temperature sensitive devices. 

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The difference between TEC and TEG

As shown in the fig1pictures below, there are little few appearance differences between TEC and TEG, but their principles and applications are not the same. 

 

Fig 1. The photo of TEC and TEG

Based on semiconductor materials, a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) can be used as an electronic component of a small heat pump. Through by adding a little low DC voltage to both ends of TEC, heat quantity will flow from one end to the other, and at the same time, the temperature of one end will decrease and the other end will rise. It is noteworthy that as long as the current direction is changed, the heat flow direction will also be changed, so one piece of TEC can simultaneously achieve two functions: cooling and heating. And TEC can be used for precise temperature control.

A thermoelectric generator (TEG) is based on “Seebeck effect” to concert transform heat into electricity directly. In an open circuit with two different conductors, if there are temperature differences between its two contacts, this circuit will produce electromotive force, meaning that with the temperature gradient moving from high temperature region to low temperature region, thus the thermal electron in an object can produce electric current or charge accumulation.Therefore, TEG can be used for power supplies of radios, televisions, tape recorders, computers, and some other devices. 

 

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