Hi trebuchet, it just so happens that I work with Peltier units as an industrial designer. I have created oodles of products and product proposals with these little beauties.

I can not give away any proprietary ideas, but here are a few I can throw your way:

First you need to control the output. Build a box with the sides isolated. Duct a small computer fan to the waste side (the temp that you don't want).

1a. Personal automotive A/C. Power with a converter and run off car's power port. Duct the cool or warm air to you, the less desirable air to the floor under the seat.

1b. "Desktop A/C". Same idea, just use it at your desk and run it off good 'ole 110V .

2. On your custom box, cut a hole about 4 inches DIA directly in front of the face of the cooling fins. Mount an aluminum (aluminum conducts heat and cool really well) cup directly to it. The more physical contact, the better. You now have a drink cooler. It will keep your beer cold for hours. You still have to blow/duct off the hot air from the reverse side. Put an aluminum sleeve on both sides and you can flip it over to warm your coffee. Use a baffle to direct the fan over the cool side for this.

3. "Battery Warmer". If you have battery powered tools that you use outside or in a garage, you know how coldness kills your battery life. Make a battery storage box with the warm side of the Peltier unit facing in. Keep your spares in here while you are working outside in the Winter. You will have a nice fresh, fully charged battery to switch out when the time comes.

NOTE. This particular unit is set up to cool. that is why the fins on the heat side are so huge. If you can remove the heat side sink and replace it with one like that on the cooling side, it will be much more efficient to switch between heat and cool. This is pretty easy to do. On a Peltier unit, reversing the polarity changes which side is hot and which is cool.

If I think of more, I will send them your way.

David

how about cooling your pc, it seems huge so maybe a pc case cooler with the cold heat sink in the case the hot one outside, you could then maybe remove some internal fans and make it a silent pc, just a thought, might have problems with condensation though,

I see this is an older thread, but I was wondering about the power generation capabilities of a peltier junction? With lots of copper tubing (possibly pump-driven, fluid filled) the cool side buried, and the warm side black and in the sun, could I generate (even with multiple units) any kind of substantial current? Or what they pale in comparison to solar/wind/water?

Just a thought...Why not make a peltier device that has the hot side in the water of a swimming pool...and the cold side cooling the room (piping the air away a little bit so it doesn't just re-cool the water... it's efficiency would depend on the water temp and air temp... but it might be a good way to mantain temperature in the room and pool....I'm gonna test it (i have an indoor pool...so spoiled haha)

Disconnect all the electronics until you end up with only the cooling unit and the two wires that come out of it. Heat the side that doesn't have the cooling fins with a candle, kerosene lamp or hot exhaust and it will make electricity. you will get enough to charge some AA rechargeable batteries and might also run the fan if it is a DC fan. The cooler you make the "cold" side in relation to the hot side, the more voltage you will get out of it. I don't know how much heat it can stand so I wouldn't put the flame right on it, just kinda close to it.

. You may be able to tweak the power supply to up the voltage a little bit. It should pump more heat, but will have a shorter life. . Notice the foam seal at the sink/cold interface - don't disturb this if you can help it. This seal reduces the amount of condensation. . How many Watts does it use?