IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/renene/v231y2024ics0960148124009716.html

Thermoelectric system investigation with the combination of solar concentration, greenhouse and radiative cooling for all-day power generation

Author

Listed:
  • Yang, Zhenning
  • Wang, Fuqiang
  • Fu, Zhichang
  • Dong, Yan
  • Zou, Huichuan
  • Chen, Xudong
  • Yan, Yuying
  • Zhang, Shuai

Abstract

Thermoelectric generator (TEG) can utilize solar heating to generate electricity without any fossil fuel consumption. However, conventional solar driven TEG fails to achieve high efficiency power generation for 24-h, due to the losing of solar concentration at the hot end and additional cooling capability at the cold end. Therefore, a novel TEG system with the combination of solar concentration, greenhouse and radiative cooling is proposed. With the aim to significantly increase the temperature of hot end, a dish-type concentrator is introduced to concentrate solar radiation and a greenhouse seals up heat. Radiative cooling panel is used to decrease the temperature of cold end, which can realize temperature differences of TEG at night. The eight-day outdoor experimental test indicates that the thermoelectric system achieves a maximum temperature difference of 47.5 °C and a voltage output of 1293.8 mV. The system attains the average power outputs of 3.6 W/m2 on sunny and 0.16 W/m2 on cloudy. Moreover, even at the nights of high humidity and low temperature, the system also achieves a maximum power output of 0.08 W/m2, which can enable continuous power generation throughout the day. This innovative TEG system presents a viable strategy for powering small-scale devices in remote areas.

Suggested Citation

  • Yang, Zhenning & Wang, Fuqiang & Fu, Zhichang & Dong, Yan & Zou, Huichuan & Chen, Xudong & Yan, Yuying & Zhang, Shuai, 2024. "Thermoelectric system investigation with the combination of solar concentration, greenhouse and radiative cooling for all-day power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:231:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124009716
    DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2024.120903
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960148124009716
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.renene.2024.120903?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Liu, Xianglei & Cheng, Bo & Zhu, Qibin & Gao, Ke & Sun, Nan & Tian, Cheng & Wang, Jiaqi & Zheng, Hangbin & Wang, Xinrui & Dang, Chunzhuo & Xuan, Yimin, 2022. "Highly efficient solar-driven CO2 reforming of methane via concave foam reactors," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(PB).
    2. Aaswath P. Raman & Marc Abou Anoma & Linxiao Zhu & Eden Rephaeli & Shanhui Fan, 2014. "Passive radiative cooling below ambient air temperature under direct sunlight," Nature, Nature, vol. 515(7528), pages 540-544, November.
    3. Rodrigo, P.M. & Valera, A. & Fernández, E.F. & Almonacid, F.M., 2019. "Performance and economic limits of passively cooled hybrid thermoelectric generator-concentrator photovoltaic modules," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1150-1162.
    4. Cotfas, D.T. & Enesca, A. & Cotfas, P.A., 2024. "Enhancing the performance of the solar thermoelectric generator in unconcentrated and concentrated light," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    5. Da, Yun & Xuan, Yimin & Li, Qiang, 2016. "From light trapping to solar energy utilization: A novel photovoltaic–thermoelectric hybrid system to fully utilize solar spectrum," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 200-210.
    6. Daniel Kraemer & Qing Jie & Kenneth McEnaney & Feng Cao & Weishu Liu & Lee A. Weinstein & James Loomis & Zhifeng Ren & Gang Chen, 2016. "Concentrating solar thermoelectric generators with a peak efficiency of 7.4%," Nature Energy, Nature, vol. 1(11), pages 1-8, November.
    7. Weldekidan, Haftom & Strezov, Vladimir & Town, Graham, 2018. "Review of solar energy for biofuel extraction," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 184-192.
    8. Wang, Cun-Hai & Chen, Hao & Jiang, Ze-Yi & Zhang, Xin-Xin, 2023. "Design and experimental validation of an all-day passive thermoelectric system via radiative cooling and greenhouse effects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    9. Maduabuchi, Chika C. & Ejenakevwe, Kevwe A. & Mgbemene, Chigbo A., 2021. "Performance optimization and thermodynamic analysis of irreversibility in a contemporary solar thermoelectric generator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1189-1206.
    10. Su, Xiaosong & Zhang, Ling & Liu, Zhongbing & Luo, Yongqiang & Chen, Dapeng & Li, Weijiao, 2021. "Performance evaluation of a novel building envelope integrated with thermoelectric cooler and radiative sky cooler," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 1061-1078.
    11. Shi, Xuhang & Song, Jintao & Cheng, Ziming & Liang, Huaxu & Dong, Yan & Wang, Fuqiang & Zhang, Wenjing, 2023. "Radiative intensity regulation to match energy conversion on demand in solar methane dry reforming to improve solar to fuel conversion efficiency," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 207(C), pages 436-446.
    12. Peoples, Joseph & Hung, Yu-Wei & Li, Xiangyu & Gallagher, Daniel & Fruehe, Nathan & Pottschmidt, Mason & Breseman, Cole & Adams, Conrad & Yuksel, Anil & Braun, James & Horton, W. Travis & Ruan, Xiulin, 2022. "Concentrated radiative cooling," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    13. Liu, Jie & Xu, Chengfeng & Ao, Xianze & Lu, Kegui & Zhao, Bin & Pei, Gang, 2022. "A dual-layer polymer-based film for all-day sub-ambient radiative sky cooling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PA).
    14. Narayana, Mahinsasa & Sunderland, Keith M. & Putrus, Ghanim & Conlon, Michael F., 2017. "Adaptive linear prediction for optimal control of wind turbines," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 113(C), pages 895-906.
    15. Lv, Song & Zhang, Bolong & Ji, Yishuang & Ren, Juwen & Yang, Jiahao & Lai, Yin & Chang, Zhihao, 2023. "Comprehensive research on a high performance solar and radiative cooling driving thermoelectric generator system with concentration for passive power generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    16. Dong, Yan & Zhang, Xinping & Chen, Lingling & Meng, Weifeng & Wang, Cunhai & Cheng, Ziming & Liang, Huaxu & Wang, Fuqiang, 2023. "Progress in passive daytime radiative cooling: A review from optical mechanism, performance test, and application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    17. Hamid Elsheikh, Mohamed & Shnawah, Dhafer Abdulameer & Sabri, Mohd Faizul Mohd & Said, Suhana Binti Mohd & Haji Hassan, Masjuki & Ali Bashir, Mohamed Bashir & Mohamad, Mahazani, 2014. "A review on thermoelectric renewable energy: Principle parameters that affect their performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 30(C), pages 337-355.
    18. Salari, Ali & Parcheforosh, Ali & Hakkaki-Fard, Ali & Amadeh, Ali, 2020. "A numerical study on a photovoltaic thermal system integrated with a thermoelectric generator module," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 153(C), pages 1261-1271.
    19. Wang, Cun-Hai & Chen, Hao & Jiang, Ze-Yi & Zhang, Xin-Xin & Wang, Fu-Qiang, 2023. "Modelling and performance evaluation of a novel passive thermoelectric system based on radiative cooling and solar heating for 24-hour power-generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Cui, Xiangna & Wu, Yixuan & Chen, Xi, 2025. "Thermoelectric generation: principles, applications, and prospects," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    2. Du, Yahui & Zhou, Zhihua & Wang, Cheng & Yang, Xueqing & Wu, Ruobing & Chao, Yuechao & Zhang, Shuqi & Liu, Junwei & Yan, Jinyue, 2025. "Theoretical model and application potential of hybrid passive cooling for power yield improvement of thermoelectric generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 327(C).
    3. Mousavi, S. Ali Akbar & Aghakhani, Hamidreza & Baghapour, Behzad & Lv, Song, 2025. "Integrating radiative cooling and thermoelectric: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mousavi, S. Ali Akbar & Aghakhani, Hamidreza & Baghapour, Behzad & Lv, Song, 2025. "Integrating radiative cooling and thermoelectric: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    2. Wang, Cun-Hai & Chen, Hao & Jiang, Ze-Yi & Zhang, Xin-Xin & Wang, Fu-Qiang, 2023. "Modelling and performance evaluation of a novel passive thermoelectric system based on radiative cooling and solar heating for 24-hour power-generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 331(C).
    3. Lv, Song & Zhang, Bolong & Ji, Yishuang & Ren, Juwen & Yang, Jiahao & Lai, Yin & Chang, Zhihao, 2023. "Comprehensive research on a high performance solar and radiative cooling driving thermoelectric generator system with concentration for passive power generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 275(C).
    4. Montero, Francisco J. & Kumar, Ramesh & Lamba, Ravita & Escobar, Rodrigo A. & Vashishtha, Manish & Upadhyaya, Sushant & Guzmán, Amador M., 2022. "Hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric system: Economic feasibility analysis in the Atacama Desert, Chile," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    5. Wang, Zijun & Cao, Shaowen & Cai, Qilin & Zhang, Yingshi & Zhao, Defan & Liu, Ruizhi & Ye, Qing & Wu, Xi, 2025. "Investigation on a novel integrated system of radiative cooling and solar photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 377(PD).
    6. Han, Tian & Zhou, Zhihua & Du, Yahui & Wang, Wufan & Wang, Cheng & Yang, Xueqing & Liu, Junwei & Yang, Haibin & Cui, Hongzhi & Yan, Jinyue, 2024. "Advances in radiative sky cooling based on the promising electrospinning," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 200(C).
    7. Moshwan, Raza & Shi, Xiao-Lei & Zhang, Min & Yue, Yicheng & Liu, Wei-Di & Li, Meng & Wang, Lijun & Liang, Daniel & Chen, Zhi-Gang, 2025. "Advances and challenges in hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric systems for renewable energy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 380(C).
    8. Wang, Cun-Hai & Chen, Hao & Jiang, Ze-Yi & Zhang, Xin-Xin, 2023. "Design and experimental validation of an all-day passive thermoelectric system via radiative cooling and greenhouse effects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PA).
    9. Dong, Yan & Zhang, Xinping & Chen, Lingling & Meng, Weifeng & Wang, Cunhai & Cheng, Ziming & Liang, Huaxu & Wang, Fuqiang, 2023. "Progress in passive daytime radiative cooling: A review from optical mechanism, performance test, and application," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 188(C).
    10. Wang, Ning & Zhou, Qingli & Zhang, Lei & Xu, Shuxi & Liu, Yuan & Jia, Hongzhi & Wang, Guanxue, 2025. "Efficiency enhancement of an all-weather self-supplied energy system based on passive radiative cooling and phase change energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 325(C).
    11. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Akhlaghi, Yousef Golizadeh & Ma, Xiaoli & Zhao, Xudong & Ayodele, Emmanuel, 2019. "Advancements in thermoelectric generators for enhanced hybrid photovoltaic system performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 24-54.
    12. Liang, Yan & Zhang, Weiyi & Yang, Haibing & Liu, Junwei & Zhou, Yifan & Cui, Hongzhi & Yan, Jinyue, 2025. "Bridging the critical gaps of radiative sky cooling: From lab to applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    13. Wang, Boshi & Li, Lin & Zhang, Kaihua & Wu, Xiaohu & Yu, Kun, 2025. "Enhanced thermoelectric system by dual-band radiative cooling for all-day energy harvesting," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(C).
    14. Feng, Mengqi & Lv, Song & Deng, Jingcai & Guo, Ying & Wu, Yangyang & Shi, Guoqing & Zhang, Mingming, 2023. "An overview of environmental energy harvesting by thermoelectric generators," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    15. Ding, L.C. & Akbarzadeh, A. & Tan, L., 2018. "A review of power generation with thermoelectric system and its alternative with solar ponds," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 799-812.
    16. Xuan, Zhiwei & Ge, Minghui & Zhao, Chenyang & Li, Yanzhe & Wang, Shixue & Zhao, Yulong, 2024. "Effect of nonuniform solar radiation on the performance of solar thermoelectric generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    17. Shi, Zijie & Zhang, Kai & Jiang, Kaiyu & Li, Haoran & Ye, Peiliang & Yang, Haibin & Mahian, Omid, 2023. "Maximizing energy generation: A study of radiative cooling-based thermoelectric power devices," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    18. Zhaoyi Zhuang & Yanbiao Xu & Qian Wu & Bing Liu & Bowen Li & Jin Zhao & Xuebin Yang, 2022. "Experimental Study on the Performance of a Space Radiation Cooling System under Different Environmental Factors," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(19), pages 1-18, October.
    19. Poredoš, Primož & Shan, He & Shao, Zhao & Deng, Fangfang & Zavrl, Eva & Žižak, Tej & Arkar, Ciril & Gatarić, Pero & Wang, Ruzhu, 2025. "Switchable multicyclic adsorption-based atmospheric water harvesting with solar and radiative sky cooling thermal concentration and heat pumps," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 332(C).
    20. Jiang, Kaiyu & Zhang, Kai & Shi, Zijie & Li, Haoran & Wu, Bingyang & Mahian, Omid & Zhu, Yutong, 2023. "Experimental and numerical study on the potential of a new radiative cooling paint boosted by SiO2 microparticles for energy saving," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:renene:v:231:y:2024:i:c:s0960148124009716. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/renewable-energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.