A domestic appliance, which may be a tumble dryer, includes a thermoelectric heat pump; at least one series of Peltier elements operationally associated with the heat pump and driven by a supply voltage for producing heat during appliance operation wherein the resistance of the Peltier elements increases with increasing temperature and wherein a threshold temperature for the Peltier elements is defined; and a heat flow path for dissipating heat produced by the Peltier elements wherein at a maximum temperature of the Peltier elements above a normal operating temperature and below the threshold temperature the power of the heat dissipated through the heat flow path is substantially equal to the electrical power drawn by the Peltier elements from the supply voltage.