A method for 24-hour electricity generation based on PV/TR-TE system

Abstract

Thermoradiative (TR) cell under negative illumination paves a new way for the traditional PV-TE system to generate electricity at night. By combining PV/TR cell with TEG devices, the present work proposes a framework to analyze the possibility of electricity generation through the PV/TR-TE hybrid system under negative and positive illumination, benefiting from the thermoradiative effect. A theoretical calculation model is established for the variation of the performance of the hybrid system with the bandgap and the temperature. Based on the ideal thermodynamic limit hypothesis, the comprehensive analysis and prediction model of the hybrid system under positive illumination and negative illumination are established. The influence laws of the cell temperature and bandgap on the system efficiency and output power density are obtained, and the influence mechanism of non-ideal losses of important parameters is revealed. A three-dimensional real-time photon-thermal-electric coupling calculation model that can automatically recognize illumination patterns is established, and the power output of the hybrid system is calculated and evaluated by using 24 h real-time environmental data. This work sets attempt to establish the comprehensive and systematic models of PV-TEG under positive illumination and TR-TEG under negative illumination simultaneously, and quantitatively assesses the possibility of a new way for 24 h power generation.