Thermoelectric Cooler Module TES1-4902

I haven't tried it with 6 Volts yet, instead, I used a cheap 1.5V AA battery for a quick test and it did not disappoint. the two sides are well isolated from each other and the build seems truly solid. Would definitely recommend.

The Peltier effect of transferring heat from one side of this device is very limited compared to other “heat pumps” involving moving parts but for spot cooling or heating these are a great solution. PLEASE NOTE: These devices REQUIRE a heat sink on the hot side or you can damage the device. When experimenting with this device, do not pass current thru it unless the hot side is thermally mounted on a heat sink. There is no datasheet or any other documentation included with this device so do your research on limits and the proper use of this in your application. The more voltage (up to the rated 6V max) you apply, the more current and the greater the difference in temperature between the two sides. I measured about 880mA at 3V and 1.55A at 6V but the current measured is dependent not just on the applied voltage, it is also affected by ambient temperature, how efficient the heat sink is at dissipating the heat generated on the hot side and the thermal mass load on the cold side. You can also generate a small voltage with this device when you set an ice cube on one side and connect the leads to a very small load like a motor I have that runs on as little as 0.5V at 19mA as shown in my video demonstration. Note that in my demo there is no heatsink on the other side so after a short while both sides become cold from the ice cube and the motor will stop. There has to be a DIFFERENCE in temperature to generate electricity. This is a great electronic part for classroom demonstrations of the Peltier effect or for keeping an IC from getting overheated or just experimentation.

With power supplied according to the specifications (6V @2A max, + on RED and - on BLACK), and a proper heat sink attached to either side, this will almost instantly either heat or cool the opposite side. The side with the part number (TES1-4902) will be cooled, while the unmarked side will be heated. I didn't measure the temperature, but if I held my thumb on the cool side for more than about 10 seconds, I would quickly get a case of frostbite. At 6V in, the current draw is about 1.75A, so my supply (which was set to limit at 2A) never switched from constant voltage to constant current mode. Active coolers are (literally) cool, but keep in mind that they actually add heat to the system. Power dissipation on this part is a bit over 10W, so whatever heat sink you use must be able to dissipate 10 J/s of heat, plus whatever extra heat that is being moved from the thermally-bonded object to the heat sink.