Method of operating a heat exchanger

Abstract

The invention relates to a method for operating a heat exchanger comprising a top side and a bottom side and a thermoelectric device having a thermoelectric active element which is designed to be energizable in order to generate a heat flow between the top side and the bottom side, the thermoelectric device is energized with an alternating current in such a way that:-an average first period in which the energization of the thermoelectric active element takes place in such a way that heat is transferred from the top side to the bottom side is shorter than an average second period, energizing the thermoelectric active element in the average second time period in such a way that heat is transferred from the bottom side to the top side; or / and such that an average first current, in which energization of the thermoelectric active element takes place in such a way that heat is transferred from the top side to the bottom side, is lower than an average second current, in which energization of the thermoelectric active element takes place in such a way that heat is transferred from the bottom side to the top side.

Description

technical field [0001] The present invention relates to a method of operating a heat exchanger and to a heat exchanger designed to carry out the method. Furthermore, the invention relates to a vehicle seat having such a heat exchanger. Background technique [0002] Typically, vehicle seats in modern motor vehicles are heated with the help of an electric heating wire or an electric heating pad, which has a suitable electrical impedance such that it converts electrical energy into heat, which is heated in the vehicle release on the seat. Also, such vehicle seats can be equipped with so-called thermoelectric surface cooling systems comprising thermoelectric active elements. By appropriate energization of the thermoelectric active elements, they assume the function of a heat exchanger that transfers heat from the vehicle seat to a fluid path through which the fluid can flow. The fluid used as coolant absorbs the heat transferred away from the vehicle seat by means of a heat e...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

[0004] However, it turns out to be disadvantageous in that the extraction of heat from the fluid or the fluid path is accompanied by an additional cooling of this fluid or the fluid path, which in extreme cases can lead to freezing of the fluid mass flow and thus to the complete cooling of the entire surface cooling system. fail

[0005] The use of the described electric heating wires or heating mats for heating the vehicle seats in combination with a thermoelectric surface cooling system for cooling the vehicle seats can only be realized technically with great effort and thus with great expense

Furthermore, a relatively large installation space is required for this, since two devices, which usually operate independently of each other, have to be installed

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