SEOUL, South Korea, Oct. 11, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- LG Innotek will introduce a breakthrough solution for one-person household appliances, the demand for which is rapidly increasing in China.
LG Innotek intends to expand its market by introducing thermoelectric semiconductors to China, which contribute to reducing the size and weight of existing household appliances such as refrigerators and water purifiers.
The company said it will hold the "Thermoelectric Semiconductor Technology Forum", which will showcase the latest thermoelectric semiconductor technology, at the Hyatt Regency Global Harbor Hotel in Shanghai, China on October 25.
The thermoelectric semiconductor is an innovative component which can perform the cooling and heating functions by providing the semiconductor component with electricity and can use temperature difference to produce electrical power. This semiconductor uses the "Peltier effect", which generates heat on one side and cools on the other side when electricity runs through the semiconductor, as well as the "Seedbeck effect", which generates electric power when there is a temperature difference between both sides.
Applying thermoelectric semiconductors to household appliances such as refrigerators and water purifiers greatly reduces the size and noise of the appliances. If the noise level of a small compressor-type refrigerator is 29dB, it can be brought down to as low as 19dB if the product uses the thermoelectric semiconductor. This value is even lower than the noise level in a broadcasting studio (20dB). Home appliances can also be made smaller and slimmer than the compressor-type products by up to 40%.
LG Innotek mass-produced thermoelectric semiconductors last January and has installed it on LG Electronics' wine cellar Mini. The wine cellar is small but has excellent cooling function and has no noise or vibration, so it can preserve the original taste of wine efficiently, gathering heated attention of the market.
The company also announced that it has successfully developed thermoelectric semiconductors based on nano-polycrystalline materials in January of this year and plans to mass-produce it in the first half of next year.
LG Innotek's proprietary nano-polycrystalline material achieves ultra-fine crystal structure in the size of nanometers (nm). One nanometer is about a hundred thousandth the thickness of the hair.
Its strength and efficiency are superior to those of conventional thermoelectric semiconductors, to which the previous mono-crystalline material is applied, and its application range can be extended to various fields such as vehicles, ships, and waste heat power plants.
In addition, it has the advantage of increasing the cooling efficiency by 30% by minimizing thermal resistance. When cooled to the same temperature, the nano-polycrystalline material can reduce the power consumption by up to 30%. It is expected to contribute greatly to widening the application range of thermoelectric semiconductors.
According to TechNavio, a market research company, the size of the global thermoelectric semiconductor market is expected to grow from last year's 471.55 million USD to 626.73 million USD in 2020.
At the "Shanghai Thermoelectric Semiconductor Technology Forum", the company will unveil thermoelectric semiconductor solutions, which incorporate thermoelectric materials, elements and modules produced using its proprietary technologies, and future R&D roadmaps. There will also be an exhibition booth where the forum participants can experience the products applied with the thermoelectric semiconductors.
"Shanghai Thermoelectric Semiconductor Technology Forum" is open to anyone who is interested, and you can apply for participation at the Thermoelectric Semiconductor Technology Forum website (http://temforum.lginnotek.com/cn) until one day before October 25, the start date of the forum.
