Abstract
Solar thermoelectric generator (STEG) has been widely studied in optical and thermal concentrating fields, and the spectral properties are mainly focused on the solar spectrum. However, limited attention has been paid to STEG without any concentrators and in the full spectral range. Therefore, in this work, a thermal-electrical coupled mathematical model for STEG systems is developed according to thermal resistance networks to investigate heat losses above the absorber and power generation performance. For the ideal selective absorber and emitter (ISAE) system, the main heat losses from the absorber occur due to radiative cooling to the sky as well as for the ideal broadband absorber (IBA) system, as opposed to convection and ambient radiative losses. These sky radiative cooling losses account for approximately 83.8&#37; and 73.7&#37; of the total heat losses, respectively. The total water vapor has the greatest impact on radiative cooling power compared to other heat losses, and the radiative cooling power for the IBA and ISAE modules decreases significantly, with a decline of nearly 62.93 W/m<sup>2</sup> and 62.97 W/m<sup>2</sup> from 129.6 W/m<sup>2</sup> and 129.7 W/m<sup>2</sup>, respectively. Wind speed has the largest effect on convective heat loss, and for every 1 m/s increase in speed, the increment of convective loss is approximately constant with the average increment of 8.76 W/m<sup>2</sup>. Elevated ambient temperatures result in decreased heat loss across all forms. In light of its environmentally friendly characteristics, this paper offers recommendations on enhancing the system design of STEG aiming to minimize heat loss and enhance system performance.
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