Theoretical efficiency of solar thermoelectric energy generators

Abstract

This paper investigates the theoretical efficiency of solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs). A model is established including thermal concentration in addition to optical concentration. Based on the model, the maximum efficiency of STEGs is a product of the opto-thermal efficiency and the device efficiency. The device efficiency increases but the opto-thermal efficiency decreases with increasing hot side temperature, leading to an optimal hot-side temperature that maximizes the STEG efficiency. For a given optical concentration ratio, this optimal hot-side temperature depends on the thermoelectric materials’ nondimensional figure-or-merit, the optical properties of wavelength-selective surface and the efficiency of the optical system. Operating in an evacuated environment, STEGs can have attractive efficiency with little or no optical concentration working in the low temperature range (150–250 °C) for which Bi2Te3-based materials are suitable.