化学工学およびプロセス技術ジャーナル
オープンアクセス

概要

Thermoelectricity: Principles and applications

Karl-Heinz Gresslehner and Gunther Hendorfer

Thermoelectricity is a technology that converts thermal energy into electrical energy (thermoelectric generator TEG) or vice versa (thermoelectric cooler or heater TEC/TEH). Therefore thermoelectrics is literally associated with thermal and electrical phenomena. The main advantages of thermoelectric devices (TED) are their noiseless operation, they have no moving parts and no working fluids and they don’t release any by-products in the environment. In this presentation we give an overview of the physical principles of thermoelectricity, the existing state of research and the performance parameters of thermoelectric materials as well as examples of the wide range of applications of thermoelectric modules (e.g. waste heat recovery, generation of electric power in remote area, solar TEG, space flight, medicine, etc.,)