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Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

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Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#181

Post by Auracle »

sunshine-o wrote: post #41
nine_k wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

OK, a typical Peltier device has 3.5% coefficient of performance, that is, it produces 35 W of cooling per 1 kW consumed. Fine, let's expect that the new tech doubles the efficiency, to 7%. Still, to my mind, pretty wasteful, on par with a steam railway engine. A Peltier element is good in cases where you can afford a large heat removal device, but need precise temperature control and no moving parts. For a home frid…

While Peltier cooling have low efficiency wouldn't it be ideal in some cases like: - energy source is solar, DC already and abundant. - cold climate so the fridge can contribute to heating the room Anyway good to know those small electric cooler with Peltier effect must be consuming a lot electricity.

I considered putting some in our under-sink reverse osmosis tank, to cool the water. Couldn’t come up with a way to exhaust the heat well enough to even look at how much electricity it would have cost me though - probably too much to make it worth it.

Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#182

Post by esseph »

akvadrako wrote: post #177
bigstrat2003 wrote: post #171

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not the same person, but I do not (and never have) noticed any noise when my fridge is running. Whether that means we have different fridges or different tolerances for noise, I'm not sure.

It's tolerance. I've bought several of the quietest fridges and they all bother me. Old fridges sound nicer but newer ones are actually quieter.

Is it the fridge noise in particular or all noises that you find you are sensitive to?

Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#183

Post by globular-toast »

bigstrat2003 wrote: post #171
frosted-flakes wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can't? Refrigerators have always made a noticeable background noise as they cycle on and off. The advantage of the newer variable speed scroll compressors in some high end fridges is that they can run continuously at a slower speed.

I'm not the same person, but I do not (and never have) noticed any noise when my fridge is running. Whether that means we have different fridges or different tolerances for noise, I'm not sure.

More likely you have a noisier house/neighbourhood. I used to think my PC was silent until I moved to a quiet place and then I could suddenly hear it very clearly.

Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#184

Post by Hackbraten »

fourthark wrote: post #172
cactusfrog wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My process control theory textbook has a chapter on neural networks and a lot of the language in control theory has an AI like tinge to it. I think this AI language is native to control theory so it might not be as overblown as it first sounds.

A thermostat is a cybernetic device.

So we need both AI and Kubernetes.

Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#187

Post by creshal »

bluGill wrote: post #17
anticensor wrote: post #4

Did they solve the inefficiency problem of peltiers?

They claim 75% better. I doubt this is better than compressors in general but they seem to be going for a niche where a high power compressor does the high load part but when only a litte cooling is needed the compressor is now very inefficient and so the peltier is better. Normal fridges just let the temperature have a wider swing which is good enough for most needs.

75% better than "utterly awful" is an improvement, but you're still going to be searching for applicable niches with a microscope.

Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#188

Post by veunes »

mark-r wrote: post #134

I wish they had gone into detail about what makes this device different from Peltier coolers that are available today. You can already get mini fridges that use them, but they're not very good - the total amount of cooling you can get from them is not enough to maintain the temperatures that a regular refrigerator does.

Yep, it's hard to tell if this is a true leap or just marketing polish on incremental improvements

Re: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation Peltier cooling

#189

Post by veunes »

bluGill wrote: post #17
anticensor wrote: post #4

Did they solve the inefficiency problem of peltiers?

They claim 75% better. I doubt this is better than compressors in general but they seem to be going for a niche where a high power compressor does the high load part but when only a litte cooling is needed the compressor is now very inefficient and so the peltier is better. Normal fridges just let the temperature have a wider swing which is good enough for most needs.

Yet I'’d love to see real-world power consumption numbers compared to traditional fridges
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