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I have a TEC1-12710 Peltier cell which supposedly consumes 10 Amps but when I connected to the power supply (12-15 Vdc 15Amp 180 Watt) the cell only used 4-5 Amp and didn't give me good cooling

the Cold side with sink is 15 degree C, and the hot side with sink and fan is 45 C degree and the Ambient temperature is 24-25 degree C.

I am confused on why the cold sink is not freezing as I saw in some YouTube videos!

do I need to use a PS with more Amperage to get more cold?

The hot side is not bad since the temperature of Hot sink does not exceed 45 C degree, AM I right? or need to be less!

I am feeding 12Vdc for Peltier

Thanks for all and I hope you will be able to help me

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    \$\begingroup\$ Hi welcome to EE sx, even with a simple circuit as this it's always nice to provide a circuit drawing, which you can embed when editing your questions, and please provide the voltage on the cell \$\endgroup\$
    – diegogmx
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 16:38
  • \$\begingroup\$ I edited the question and mentioned the Voltage on the cell. thanks :) \$\endgroup\$
    – M.Saeed
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 16:41

1 Answer 1

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You are getting a difference between the two sides of 30 C, which is pretty typical for peltiers.

You need to cool the hot side better.

You can also try limiting the current, because a bunch of that heat you are seeing is being generated by the peltier itself. You have to keep in mind how inefficient they are (they create several watts of heat for every watt they move).

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    \$\begingroup\$ You could decrease the current with a resistor or just lowering the voltage if you have an adjustable supply. It is unlikely that increasing the current will lead to more cooling, in fact, you will eventually end up heating the cold side! Your best bet is going to be cooling the hot side further. \$\endgroup\$
    – evildemonic
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 16:05
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    \$\begingroup\$ The important part of my answer is pointing out that for every watt of heat the peltier moves it creates several more. Since the hot and cold sides are physically connected, this extra heat bleeds over to the cold side and increases the amount of work the peltier needs to accomplish. Very soon it cannot keep up and cannot move as much heat as is being created on the cold side. \$\endgroup\$
    – evildemonic
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 16:08
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    \$\begingroup\$ Also, note that when I say a difference of 30 C, that is between the two sides of the peltier, not cold side to ambient. \$\endgroup\$
    – evildemonic
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 16:10
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    \$\begingroup\$ Yes, you understand me correctly. Find a way to remove more heat from the hot side, or reduce the load on the cold side (smaller heat sink). \$\endgroup\$
    – evildemonic
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 16:22
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    \$\begingroup\$ You are getting closer. You actually want to reduce the size of the cold side because you can only remove so many watts per second. The smaller the area the better. \$\endgroup\$
    – evildemonic
    Commented Apr 14, 2020 at 18:47

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