Experimenting and Simulating Thermoelectric Cooling of an LED Module

Abstract

Use of a thermoelectric component (TEC) for an LED module cooling will be studied. The issue will be approached by revealing the operation of a thermoelectric component known also as Peltier element, and the main equations describing its behaviour. An experimental setup including an LED module, a TEC, an heatsink and a fan will be build. Heat dissipation and the electrical performance measurements of the hole experimental setup will be conducted. The benefits and the limitations of TEC used in cooling, will be revealed. Cooling effect versus used electrical power will be studied. 3D thermal simulations for the experimental setup using a FEM simulation software will be presented. Alternatively, a standard circuit simulator will be used. A spice model, which imports TEC's parameters from the data sheet, will be developed. The spice simulation results are compared with the experimental results.