If you’re looking for a safe, efficient heater––particularly for a small application––consider choosing a positive temperature coefficient (PTC) air heater. PTC air heaters, a unique heating solution, make use of PTC thermistors to deliver secure, effective heat transfer.
While many heaters use typical resistors, a thermistor is a special type of resistor dependent on temperature. PTC thermistors specifically increase resistance with a rise in temperature.
There are two kinds of PTC thermistors: silistors and switching-type. Silistors, which use silicon as their conductive material, are known for their linear characteristics and are typically used as temperature sensors.
Switching-type PTC thermistors, on the other hand, have non-linear characteristics. When this type of thermistor is heated the resistance decreases until it reaches a certain temperature and then subsequently increases. These characteristics cause the switching type to be widely used in PTC heaters, sensors, and other devices––especially as PTC self-regulating heaters.
Pelonis thermistors are used in a wide variety of applications that include heating plates, drying machines, hair dryers, hot melt glue guns, foot warmers, diesel/fuel heaters, self-regulating heating elements, carburetor pre-heating, and irons.
Standard and Custom Thermistor Configurations
At Pelonis, we manufacture our own PTC thermistors for use in our PTC air heaters. We currently offer our thermistors in three standard shapes: round, rectangular, and square.
We can also create additional custom sizes and configurations to fit a particular application’s requirements or to accommodate a specific order quantity. Our rectangular thermistors are available in a wide variety of models and can be portioned into smaller sizes, with the resistance of segmented PTC thermistors increasing in proportion to their size. For low-volume round PTC thermistors with unique dimensions, square PTC thermistors with a slightly higher temperature can also work; this allows for faster delivery and reduced minimum order quantities.
Fin and Honeycomb Design Options
Our team specializes in using our thermistors as self-regulating heating elements in PTC air heaters. These heaters feature unique heating discs to allow for optimal heat transfer––particularly in small, confined areas. We currently offer our PTC air heaters in two designs: fin and honeycomb.
In our fin PTC air heaters, the heating elements reside within rectangular aluminum tubes encircled by PTC ceramic fins. In this design, the thermistors heat the air flowing through the aluminum tubes as the temperature of the thermistors rises.
Fin PTC heaters have several key advantages––particularly when it comes to safety features. Since they’re self-regulating, there is no risk of overheating. These heaters have a fast thermal response time and include an internal safety fuse along with an auto-cutoff feature to prevent high currents. In addition, these automated PTC heaters offer higher conductivity, better energy efficiency, enhanced durability, and a more reliable electronic response.
Alternatively, our honeycomb PTC air heaters are heating discs made from an innovative ceramic material with a very high PTC. When power is applied to the PTC in this design, the resistance initially decreases while the temperature increases.
Honeycomb heaters from Pelonis offer a distinctive design that features more than 1,200 small holes for air passage across the disc’s surface area. These tiny, albeit powerful, holes enable our honeycomb PTC air heaters to produce a heat flow up to 50% hotter than conventional coil heaters. This model also guarantees greater energy efficiency due to the self-regulating nature of the discs.
Like the fin PTC air heater, the honeycomb design also delivers enhanced safety. In fact, the honeycomb PTC heaters’ model operates below the ignition temperature of paper––making it a sound choice for air-heating applications. By pairing the honeycomb heaters with PTC holder assemblies, we can arrange them in different formats to maximize heat output.
PTC Heater Benefits
Whether you choose the fin or honeycomb design, our PTC heaters provide a number of advantages that make it a great choice for your heating needs. Pelonis PTC heaters not only provide greater energy efficiency, but their automatic controls remove the risk of overheating, as well––giving you peace of mind that your device won’t cause a safety hazard.
In addition, our heaters offer a fast thermal response time and better conductivity, meaning you’ll get a longer lifespan for your heater! Our heaters are also extremely versatile, as Pelonis currently offers a few different designs for each PTC air heater type, including low air-resistance models and high-heating efficiency models, as well as single/double insulation options available. For example, double insulation enables the safe use of your heater in an underwater environment.
Our wide selection of ready assemblies and customization options allow us to further tailor your honeycomb PTC heater to meet your specific application and requirements. And, with the availability of external fuses, outer frames, protective shielding, and axial cooling fans, we’re able to provide customized solutions for fin PTC heaters, as well.
PTC Heater Options from Pelonis Technologies
Through the use of PTC thermistors, our PTC air heaters provide safe, long-lasting, and energy-efficient heating solutions in numerous applications with limited space.
To learn more about how our PTC thermistors or PTC air heaters can work for you, contact our team.
