Abstract
Solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) are a promising technology to harvest energy for off-grid applications. A wide variety of STEG designs have been proposed with the aim of providing non-intermittent electrical generation. Here, we designed and tested a STEG 0.5 m long formed by nine commercial thermoelectric generator modules and located at ground level. Data were used to validate a numerical model that was employed to simulate a one-year cycle. Results confirmed the very high variability of energy generation during daylight time due to weather conditions. By contrast, energy generation during night was almost independent of atmospheric conditions. Annual variations of nighttime energy generation followed the trend of the daily averaged soil temperature at the bottom of the device. Nighttime electrical energy generation was 5.4 times smaller than the diurnal one in yearly averaged values. Mean energy generation values per day were 587 J d−1 (daylight time) and 110 J d−1 (nighttime). Total annual energy generation was 255 kJ. Mean electrical output power values during daylight and nighttime were 13.4 mW and 2.5 mW, respectively. Annual mean output power was 7.9 mW with a peak value of 79.8 mW.
Highlights
The development of Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) has increased the interest in technologies capable of harvesting energy from the environment in order to power devices, especially in remote locations
°C hot side and 50 °C cold side temperatures) confirmed their ability to deliver power on the order of few mW when working at temperature differences between thermoelectric generators (TEG) faces below 5 °C
These power output values were almost independent of the direction of the heat flux through the TEG
Summary
The development of Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT) has increased the interest in technologies capable of harvesting energy from the environment in order to power devices, especially in remote locations. The aim is to avoid the need of using non-rechargeable batteries, which have disadvantages such as limited lifetime and periodic replacement. Energy harvesting consists in the energy transformation of heat, light, sound, vibration, etc., into an electric current for instant use or stored for later usage. Energy harvesting arises as a key technology to power IoT sensor networks. Many researchers have studied the way of extracting energy from the environment to produce this electrical generation. The most common energy sources used for energy harvesting are: mechanical and vibrational energy through piezoelectric materials [1], solar energy through photovoltaic materials [2]
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