What is a Thermopile ?
What is a Thermopile ?
Thermopile Definition
A thermopile is a device that converts heat into electricity using the thermoelectric effect, leveraging temperature differences across different metals.
Functioning Principle
Thermopiles generate voltage through the direct conversion of temperature differences into electric voltage, a principle discovered by Thomas Seebeck.
Voltage Production
The voltage output of a thermopile is proportional to the temperature difference and the number of thermocouple pairs, modulated by the Seebeck coefficient.
Types of Thermopile Sensors
Single-element thermopile sensor
Multi-element thermopile sensor
Array thermopile sensor
Pyroelectric thermopile sensor
Applications
Medical devices
Industrial processes
Environmental monitoring
Consumer electronics
Testing Method
To ensure proper functionality, thermopiles are tested using a digital multimeter set to DC millivolts to measure voltage output, which indicates operational integrity.
