Evaluation on Use of Thermoelectric Devices for Electronics Cooling

As Thermoelectric devices are getting cheaper and more powerful in cooling, these devices are getting more popular for electronics cooling applications. However, due to the additional heat production inside the thermoelectric device, the application of a TE-cooler might not always be appropriate. In some applications, use of thermoelectric devices or coolers might cause higher temperature rises on heat generating electronics than conventional cooling solutions. To authors’ best knowledge, there exists no literature that studies whether thermoelectric cooling is better than traditional convective cooling without Thermoelectrics. This study aims to evaluate the performance and effectiveness of thermoelectric cooling for electronics. Two figures of merit are proposed, to compare performances of conventional and thermoelectric cooling techniques. An attempt is made to derive this figure of merit analytically with assumptions reflecting common electronics applications. Selective case studies will be presented based on constant heat flux and constant temperature difference.