What makes Solid State Cooling Systems chillers so reliable?

Solid State Cooling Systems has established a strong, positive reputation for producing products which are significantly more reliable than compressor-based chillers. At least part of this improved reliability is inherent in the use of thermoelectric technology. Compressors typically have shorter lifetimes, because they continually run. Even variable speed compressors will wear out faster than thermoelectric technology. Thermoelectric modules have a typical lifetime of 200,000 hours. By using thermoelectric modules, with only one or two moving components (a pump and a fan), our products are inherently more reliable.

Another important factor in the lifetime of our chillers is our design approach. Although thermoelectric chillers are generally more reliable than compressor chillers, the approach to powering the modules is critical. Not all thermoelectric chillers are the same. Over our more than 25 years in business, we have developed a proprietary approach to configuring and powering our thermoelectric heat exchangers to ensure longer life.

Unlike compressors, our thermoelectric modules only turn on when needed. Once the targeted (Set Point) temperature is achieved, the feedback loop dials down the power on the modules. Power is only applied to precisely maintain a Set Point temperature.

Many of our products actually use a redundant design, so that if a thermoelectric module does fail over time, the chiller will keep working, just with reduced cooling capacity. In applications where the capacity of the chiller is higher than the max heat load, customers may not even know that a module has failed.

The last important factor in ensuring our products have world-class reliability are our proprietary assembly procedures and the skills of our assembly team. As an ISO 90001 certified manufacturing business, we pride ourselves on the discipline and attention to detail in production.

Types of Thermoelectric Heat Exchangers

We use two main types of thermoelectric heat exchangers in our products. The primary difference between the two is the way waste heat is removed from our systems.

Liquid to Air Heat Exchangers

In Liquid to Air heat exchangers, a recirculating process fluid (water/glycol, Galden/Fluorinert, PAO or other fluid) is cooled on one side of the thermoelectric modules, while heat is rejected into a finned heat sink with a fan to rapidly dissipate the heat into air. Liquid to Air heat exchangers are used in most of our benchtop products and some of our rackmount products.

Liquid to Liquid Heat Exchangers

In Liquid to Liquid heat exchangers, a recirculating process fluid (water/glycol, Galden/Fluorinert, PAO or other fluid) is cooled on one side of the thermoelectric modules, while heat is rejected into recirculating Facility Water or Process Chilled Water (PCW). Liquid to Liquid heat exchangers are used for higher capacity applications where PCW is generally available. Most of our semiconductor products use Liquid to Liquid heat exchangers, because PCW is generally available and customers want to minimize air movement in cleanrooms.

Ultra Compact Chillers - Sheet