S&P Coil Products uses Peltier effect to power fans in convector heaters
Trench and floor-standing heaters from S&P Coil Products use the Peltier effect to generate electricity from the heat emitted to power fans to increase heat output, avoiding the need for electrical wiring. The Minib range is said to be the first range of direct space-heating devices to use thermo-electric technology to power integral fans. As a result, the output per linear metre of heating element of about 1 kW is about double that of a conventional unpowered natural convector.
Units are available in a range of sizes from 1 to 2 m long and can be floor mounted or wall mounted. The tangential fans are driven by low-voltage DC motors that absorb very little power and will work with voltages as low as 5 V.
A small portion of the hot water to the heat exchanger is bypassed through small-bore pipes bonded to an array of thermo-electric devices in series running the length of the convector unit. The associated electronics sum and smooth the generated electricity and supply it to DC motors directly coupled to the tangential fan blades.
