Thermoelectric Solar Collector Research Articles

Experimental performance of a photovoltaic-assisted solar parabolic dish thermoelectric system

Solar thermoelectric (TE) generators can directly harness solar energy by generating electrical power and producing hot water for regions with unreliable electricity supply. This article investigates the performance of a photovoltaic-assisted solar parabolic dish thermoelectric system used to produce thermal and electric energy. The experimental setup comprises two photovoltaic (PV) modules, six thermoelectric power modules, a parabolic dish concentrator and a water cooling system. The parabolic dish concentrator is used to capture more solar radiation intensity on the TE solar collector. PV modules are mounted on the edge of the parabolic dish and used to drive a pump to cool the TE modules. The effects of water-cooling flow rate and water volume in the storage on various thermal and electric energy and performance parameters are investigated. The detailed information show that the TE solar parabolic dish system can supply clean hot water (40°C) and electricity (5.25 W) at a temperature difference of 164.1°C, and the corresponding conversion efficiency of TE modules is measured to be 3.02%. Therefore, it is anticipated the proposed PV-assisted TE solar parabolic dish system concept will contribute to the standalone solar TE system's production of both electrical and thermal energies simultaneously.

Characterization of Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric–Solar Collector Hybrid Systems in Natural Sunlight Conditions

Two new hybrid systems incorporating photovoltaic, thermoelectric, and solar collector components were designed and characterized under natural sunlight conditions. Two types of photovoltaic cells were used: monocrystalline silicon and polycrystalline silicon connected on the hot side of the thermoelectric generator. The two types of solar collectors used were connected on the cold side of the thermoelectric generator. The experimental setup is presented in this paper. The behavior of each component related to irradiance, temperature, and wind speed was studied. The performances of the hybrid systems were determined and compared. The best performance was observed for the hybrid system with the monocrystalline photovoltaic panel. The maximum power of the photovoltaic cells increased by more than 11% when they were integrated in a hybrid system, due to a decrease in temperature. The photovoltaic cells’ temperature decreased by 6°C for the solar radiation of 440 W/m2, to 19°C for 1,000 W/m2. The time stabilization was determined at 7–8 min for both hybrid systems in clear sky conditions. The software for the system control, data acquisition, and determination of the components’ parameters was developed using a graphical language program.

Heat pipes thermoelectric solar collectors for energy applications

This study investigates the load characteristics of heat pipe thermoelectric solar collector (HPTSC) in practice. Heat pipe thermoelectric solar collector converts the heat generated by the Sun directly into electrical energy and produces hot water as well. The maximum power in HPTSC is obtained when the internal resistance of the thermoelectric module is equal to the load resistance. It has been observed to be possible to produce both hot water and electricity by improving available solar collectors or producing new generation HPTSC. While it is possible to generate an electrical power of 160 W from a HPTSC of one square meter using the thermoelectric method, the power produced with an average photovoltaic panel with the same area is only 132 W. Accordingly, HPTSC is a superior alternative not only to available solar collectors, but also to available PV panels. HPTSC, involving three different technologies, is environmentally friendly and certainly a product that allows for more efficient use of solar energy.

Performance Study of Thermoelectric Solar-Assisted Heat Pump with Reflectors

The simultaneous conversion of solar radiation into thermal and electrical energy in a thermoelectric (TE) solar-assisted heat pump is, for the purposes of this study, referred to as hybrid conversion. To capture more thermal and electrical energy, flat-plate reflectors have been mounted on a TE solar collector. To obtain higher solar radiation intensity on the TE solar collector, the position of the reflectors has been changed and the optimal position of the reflectors determined by both experimental measurements and numerical calculation so as to obtain maximal concentration of solar radiation intensity. The calculated values have been found to be in good agreement with measured ones. Improvements to the thermal energy and electrical power outputs of the system can be achieved by the use of the TE solar-assisted heat pump with reflectors. For the optimum position of the reflectors, the coefficient of performance (COP) of the system formed from a TE solar collector integrated with a heat pump (TESC-HP) was 5.60. The power output and conversion efficiency of the TE modules can reach 10.09 W and 2.40%, respectively, being improved by 34.5% and 18.2%, respectively, compared with the TESC-HP without reflectors.

Thermal Modeling of a Hybrid Thermoelectric Solar Collector with a Compound Parabolic Concentrator

In this study radiant light from the sun is used by a hybrid thermoelectric (TE) solar collector and a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) to generate electricity and thermal energy. The hybrid TE solar collector system described in this report is composed of transparent glass, an air gap, an absorber plate, TE modules, a heat sink to cool the water, and a storage tank. Incident solar radiation falls on the CPC, which directs and reflects the radiation to heat up the absorber plate, creating a temperature difference across the TE modules. The water, which absorbs heat from the hot TE modules, flows through the heat sink to release its heat. The results show that the electrical power output and the conversion efficiency depend on the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides of the TE modules. A maximum power output of 1.03 W and a conversion efficiency of 0.6% were obtained when the temperature difference was 12°C. The thermal efficiency increased as the water flow rate increased. The maximum thermal efficiency achieved was 43.3%, corresponding to a water flow rate of 0.24 kg/s. These experimental results verify that using a TE solar collector with a CPC to produce both electrical power and thermal energy seems to be feasible. The thermal model and calculation method can be applied for performance prediction.

Performance Analysis of a Thermoelectric Solar Collector Integrated with a Heat Pump

A novel heat pump system is proposed. A thermoelectric solar collector was coupled to a solar-assisted heat pump (TESC-HP) to work as an evaporator. The cooling effect of the system’s refrigerant allowed the cold side of the system’s thermoelectric modules to work at lower temperature, improving the conversion efficiency. The TESC-HP system mainly consisted of transparent glass, an air gap, an absorber plate that acted as a direct expansion-type collector/evaporator, an R-134a piston-type hermetic compressor, a water-cooled plate-type condenser, thermoelectric modules, and a water storage tank. Test results indicated that the TESC-HP has better coefficient of performance (COP) and conversion efficiency than the separate units. For the meteorological conditions in Mahasarakham, the COP of the TESC-HP system can reach 5.48 when the average temperature of 100 L of water is increased from 28°C to 40°C in 60 min with average ambient temperature of 32.5°C and average solar intensity of 815 W/m2, whereas the conversion efficiency of the TE power generator was around 2.03%.

Performance Study of a Double-Pass Thermoelectric Solar Air Collector with Flat-Plate Reflectors

In this paper the results of the influence of flat-plate reflectors made of aluminum foil on the performance of a double-pass thermoelectric (TE) solar air collector are presented. The proposed TE solar collector with reflectors was composed of transparent glass, an air gap, an absorber plate, TE modules, a rectangular fin heat sink, and two flat-plate reflectors. The flat-plate reflectors were placed on two sides of the TE solar collector (east and west directions). The TE solar collector was installed on a one-axis sun-tracking system to obtain high solar radiation. Direct and reflected incident solar radiation heats up the absorber plate so that a temperature difference is created across the TE modules to generate a direct current. Only a small part of the absorbed solar radiation is converted to electricity, while the rest increases the temperature of the absorber plate. Ambient air flows through the heat sink located in the lower channel to gain heat. The heated air then flows to the upper channel, where it receives additional heating from the absorber plate. Improvements to the thermal energy and electrical power outputs of the system can be achieved by the use of the double-pass collector system with reflectors and TE technology. It was found that the optimum position of the reflectors is 60°, which gave significantly higher thermal energy and electrical power outputs compared with the TE solar collector without reflectors.

Performance analysis of a double-pass thermoelectric solar air collector

The thermoelectric (TE) solar air collector, sometimes known as the hybrid solar collector, generates both thermal and electrical energies simultaneously. A double-pass TE solar air collector has been developed and tested. The TE solar collector was composed of transparent glass, air gap, an absorber plate, thermoelectric modules and rectangular fin heat sink. The incident solar radiation heats up the absorber plate so that a temperature difference is created between the thermoelectric modules that generates a direct current. Only a small part of the absorbed solar radiation is converted to electricity, while the rest increases the temperature of the absorber plate. The ambient air flows through the heat sink located in the lower channel to gain heat. The heated air then flows to the upper channel where it receives additional heating from the absorber plate. Improvements to the thermal and overall efficiencies of the system can be achieved by the use of the double-pass collector system and TE technology. Results show that the thermal efficiency increases as the air flow rate increases. Meanwhile, the electrical power output and the conversion efficiency depend on the temperature difference between the hot and cold side of the TE modules. At a temperature difference of 22.8 °C, the unit achieved a power output of 2.13 W and the conversion efficiency of 6.17%. Therefore, the proposed TE solar collector concept is anticipated to contribute to wider applications of the TE hybrid systems due to the increased overall efficiency.