Ah guessed as much 
yeah the manual I'm following for the peltier controller is :
http://docs-europe.electrocomponents.com/webdocs/0551/0900766b805515a0.pdf
and in terms of code I'm right at the start of working with the kit so I'm just trying to read the temperature, which based on that manual I've understood to mean I need to send "$R105?" followed by a carriage return.
#include <Wire.h> // Comes with Arduino IDE
#include <LiquidCrystal_I2C.h>
LiquidCrystal_I2C lcd(0x27, 2, 1, 0, 4, 5, 6, 7, 3, POSITIVE); // Set the LCD I2C address
int dave;
void setup() {
// put your setup code here, to run once:
Serial.begin(115200);
lcd.begin(16,2); // initialize the lcd for 16 chars 2 lines, turn on backlight
}
void loop() {
// put your main code here, to run repeatedly:
delay(4000);
Serial.write ("$R105?");
Serial.write ('r');
dave = Serial.read();
lcd.clear();
lcd.print(dave);
}