Abstract
Geometrical optimisation is a valuable way to improve the efficiency of a thermoelectric element (TE). In a hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric (PV-TE) system, the photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) components have a relatively complex relationship; their individual effects mean that geometrical optimisation of the TE element alone may not be sufficient to optimize the entire PV–TE hybrid system. In this paper, we introduce a parametric optimisation of the geometry of the thermoelectric element footprint for a PV–TE system. A uni-couple TE model was built for the PV–TE using the finite element method and temperature-dependent thermoelectric material properties. Two types of PV cells were investigated in this paper and the performance of PV–TE with different lengths of TE elements and different footprint areas was analysed. The outcome showed that no matter the TE element's length and the footprint areas, the maximum power output occurs when An/Ap = 1. This finding is useful, as it provides a reference whenever PV–TE optimisation is investigated.
Highlights
Some of the most encouraging renewable energy sources are thermoelectric (TE) devices, because they can convert heat flux into electricity directly via the Seebeck effect.[1]
The thermoelectric generator (TEG) uni-couple module temperature and voltage distributions are obtained by solving the FEM model
Across the uni-couple, the heat flux would increase as the footprint area of the n-type element increases
Summary
Some of the most encouraging renewable energy sources are thermoelectric (TE) devices, because. Lavric performed a 1-dimensional thermal analysis of thermoelectric devices considering the geometry, and found that the electrical resistance is reduced by decreasing the leg length of the thermoelectric element. A few studies have focused on TE geometry optimisation, especially in the footprint area, to enhance hybrid PV–TE system performance. Thermoelectric material properties such as electrical resistance, thermal conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient are dependent on temperature. The remaining solar energy is converted to thermal energy, which is partially transferred from the PV to the TE while the remainder is lost to the ambient environment This process results in the a temperature difference across the TE element’s hot and cold sides, and electricity is produced due to the thermoelectric effect. The sum of the PV and TEG respective power outputs give the total power output, and is given as
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