Performance assessment of the hybrid PV-MCHP-TE system integrated with PCM in all-day operation: A preliminary numerical investigation

Abstract

Regarding the existing research on photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric generator (TE) integrated systems mostly focus on their daytime behaviors, a solar system that can achieve continuous electrical supply throughout the day, namely the PV-TE system with the micro-channel heat pipe (MCHP) (the PV-MCHP-TE system), is proposed in this paper. The implementation method is to use the phase change material (PCM) which releases the heat it harvests during the day to maintain the uninterrupted electrical output of TE at night, on the basis of the system generating electricity through PV and TE by day. Considering that the system performance may change with the difference in cooling effects, three PV-MCHP-TE systems adopting different cooling methods are designed and their performance changes during a continuous working week are analyzed. The results show that the daytime average electrical efficiencies of PV in the systems using free cooling, forced air cooling, and water cooling are 9.33%, 11.85%, and 13.10%. The maximum electrical efficiencies of TE in the three systems are 0.47%, 1.48%, and 1.87%, and the nighttime average efficiencies are 0.13%, 0.15%, and 0.16%, respectively. Additionally, a comparative analysis is also performed to compare the performance of the considered systems under different PCM parameters.