I have noticed the rather large volume of threads asking if a certain power supply can be used. This is an attempt at addressing that barrage of questions.
- Can I just plug my TEC into the computer PSU?
In general, this is not recommended, except for the smallest TECs (80W). The best way to determine if it will work or not is to look at the power supply's rating on the 12V rail, and then check how much current your TEC will draw (look at Imax here). A quick approximation can be made by taking the Imax listed there and calculate as follows:
I = 12V/Vmax * Imax
This will not be 100% accurate, as TECs are non-linear, but it will give you a ballpark figure. If you're using your computer on the same supply, ensure that you have substantially more current available than the TEC will be drawing.- The best method is still to get a dedicated power supply.
The Meanwell supplies are fairly popular, and can be purchased at various online vendors ( www.cooltechnica.com www.dangerden.com to name a couple). Ebay is a good spot to find relatively cheap supplies as well. When doing this, ensure that the current the supply can source is higher than what the TEC will draw.- Can I get 24V out of a standard ATX/AT power supply to run my 24V TEC?
24V can be gotten from an ATX or AT supply, but it will probably not work well for a TEC. This is because the supply does have -12V and -5V lines, but they are not rated to handle very much current, so using them to power a TEC would probably burn it out.
However, here are some articles which may be of interest:
http://www.procooling.com/articles/h...ween_psu_s.php
and
http://www.procooling.com/articles/h..._s_as_one_.php
That's all I can think of at the moment. Feel free to add more .
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