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Compressor-Based Cooler vs. Thermoelectric Cooling (Peltier)

 

-- The Best Advanced Technology for Electronics Cooling

· electonics cooling,Thermoelectric,Small Cooling System,Micro DC Aircon,micro airconditioner
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1. INTRODUCTION:

All electronic equipment requires some form of cooling to prevent overheating and failure. In practice, electronic equipment is usually placed in an air-conditioned office with a simple fan blowing through it to prevent overheating. However, a simple fan cannot provide sufficient cooling. This is especially the case when electronics are used in mobile or remote areas, far from the power grid, where fans or traditional air conditioners do not work.

Electronic devices are often placed in an enclosure to protect them from rain and mud. The electronic equipment inside does need a cooling system to ensure that the enclosure does not overheat and cause shutdown or permanent damage. When ambient temperatures are high, active cooling can provide enough cooling to cool the electronic equipment.

Until 2008, most small refrigeration systems used for cooling electronics and precision instruments were based on thermoelectric technology. Unfortunately, thermoelectric systems consume 4 to 6 times more electricity than equivalent vapor compression systems, making them very expensive to operate. In addition, thermoelectric modules are made of delicate semiconductor materials and require large and heavy structures. Thermoelectric modules are large, consume high amounts of electricity, and have a much lower energy efficiency ratio than compressor cooling systems.

Therefore, the only cooling systems for electronics enclosure cooling are large, heavy, and inefficient thermoelectric systems.

In 2010, RIGID developed and put into production a miniature refrigeration compressor (as shown in Figure 1), which is 10 times smaller and 10 times lighter than a conventional AC compressor of equivalent capacity. The following year, RIGID succeeded in developing a micro dc aircon for electronic cooling applications. The world's smallest and lightest micro compressor system was developed and put into production by RIGID Technology using this advanced micro compressor. This dc aircon unit (as shown in Figure 2) is widely used in small confined space cooling (<2m³).

Figure 1, RIGID miniature dc compressor.

Mini dc compressors

Figure 2, RIGID Micro DC Aircon.

Micro DC Aircon DV3220E-AC

By 2020, more than 10,000 micro aircon units have been shipped to the United States and European and Middle Eastern countries for use in hostile, dirty, and harsh local environments. This is the benefit of the high efficiency of the RIGID micro aircon units.

Today, RIGID has a lineup of miniature cooling systems  (as shown in Figure 3) that are highly reliable and the micro vapor compression technology employed is used to protect mission-critical computing and communications systems. A new vapor compression technology is being used to protect mission-critical computing and communications systems for the first time.

Over 10000 of these systems have been in use on electronics and lithium batteries for over 2 years. With a maintenance-free design and an over 100,000-hour mean time between failures, RIGID miniature vapor compression cooling systems demonstrate reliability and effectiveness.

In a preliminary evaluation, RIGID compared the basic size, weight and cooling capacity of both miniature compressor system and TE cooler, as well as the rated characteristic conditions. In the comparison tests, the internal thermal load has been changing and the power consumed to maintain the internal temperature of the electronics was measured. The data in Table 1 shows that the micro aircon unit DV3220E-AC has a smaller footprint and weighs less than the TE cooler. The DV3220E-AC provides a cooling capacity of 550W, while the TE cooler has a cooling capacity of just 303W. The results are clear: the miniature compressor system has almost twice the cooling capacity of the TE cooler.

Figure 3, RIGID miniature cooling systems.

Small Cooling Systems

 

2. Transit Case Cooling Options

Miniature compressor cooling and thermoelectric cooling are the only two technology options for achieving refrigeration of transport cases and other precision electronic instruments. Given the success of Micro DC Aircon products in field operations, RIGID miniature cooling units are the best choice. Now in order for manufacturers to develop the optimal cooling solution for their applications, they need to understand how these technologies differ in performance.

To fairly evaluate the size, weight, cooling capacity, efficiency, and relative cost of both micro compressor and thermoelectric technologies, RIGID conducted thermal evaluation testing of the 24V DC Micro DC Aircon, model number DV3220E-AC, and TE cooler. The DV3220E-AC, shown in Figure 4, is a compact, rugged vapor compression air conditioner rated at 550W (1875Btu) for air-cooled transport electronics enclosures. A competing TE cooler with similar ratings and rugged military performance was selected for comparison. This TE cooler is rated at 1500 Btu (440W).

 

Figure 4, RIGID Micro DC Aircon Drawing.

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Rigid's evaluation methodology examined each product under the same environmental conditions, using the same shipping box installation and thermal chamber. A series of performance data was generated using a common electric heat source to determine cooling capacity and power consumption at different ambient and internal transport temperatures. The results of these tests are listed below, and we can clearly see the limitations of the thermoelectric system and the high energy efficiency of RIGID's micro air conditioning unit products. For the latter analysis, RIGID assumed a military mobile communication system mission scenario for electronics cooling applications.

 

3. Baseline Performance Comparison

In a preliminary evaluation, RIGID compared the basic size, weight and cooling capacity of both miniature compressor system and TE cooler, as well as the rated characteristic conditions. In the comparison tests, the internal thermal load has been changing and the power consumed to maintain the internal temperature of the electronics was measured. The data in Table 1 shows that the micro aircon unit DV3220E-AC has a smaller footp