Traditional Peltier devices operate at ~10% efficiency (COP of 0.5-0.7) compared... | Hacker News

Hacker Newsnew | past | comments | ask | show | jobs | submit

		ethan_smith 7 months ago \| parent \| context \| favorite \| on: Staying cool without refrigerants: Next-generation... Traditional Peltier devices operate at ~10% efficiency (COP of 0.5-0.7) compared to vapor-compression systems (COP of 2-4), but recent advances in thermoelectric materials like bismuth telluride alloys and segmented elements have pushed lab efficiencies to ~15-20%.

HPsquared 7 months ago [–]

It's clearer to think in terms of "efficiency relative to ideal Carnot efficiency".

Compressor systems use twice as much energy as an ideal system, while Peltier systems use about 10x as much.

Guidelines | FAQ | Lists | API | Security | Legal | Apply to YC | Contact