An automotive thermoelectric–photovoltaic hybrid energy system using maximum power point tracking

Abstract

In recent years, there has been active research on exhaust gas waste heat energy recovery for automobiles. Meanwhile, the use of solar energy is also proposed to promote on-board renewable energy and hence to improve their fuel economy. In this paper, a new thermoelectric–photovoltaic (TE–PV) hybrid energy system is proposed and implemented for automobiles. The key is to newly develop the power conditioning circuit using maximum power point tracking so that the output power of the proposed TE–PV hybrid energy system can be maximized. An experimental system is prototyped and tested to verify the validity of the proposed system.