IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v15y2022i21p8211-d962367.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Application of Thermal Energy Harvesting from Photovoltaic Panels

Author

Listed:
  • Hasan Demir

    (Software Engineering Department, The Faculty of Engineering, Aksaray University, Aksaray 68100, Turkey)

Abstract

This paper describes a newly developed system for harvesting thermoelectric energy from photovoltaic panels. This system helps to power monitoring systems for photovoltaic panels (PVs) in locations where there is no energy source using waste thermal energy from PVs exposed to the sun’s rays. In the study described here, the thermal energy from a PV panel was captured and transferred to a thermoelectric generator (TEG). A temperature gradient was created by reducing the temperature using an aluminium heat sink in ambient weather conditions. This temperature gradient was used to generate electricity via two TEGs. In field tests carried out in April, in Aksaray province in central Turkey, the maximum temperature gradient due to solar radiation was measured as 21.08 °C. The harvested energy was increased to a usable level of 4.1 V using a DC-to-DC converter and stored in a li-ion rechargeable battery. The maximum charge current level of the battery was 147 µA. The maximum harvested energy was 458.64 mW, and a stable level of around 350 mW was achieved. The experimental operation of the prototype system was carried out in stable weather conditions; however, weather and climatic conditions greatly affect levels of energy harvested as a result of changing temperature gradients. The energy obtained with the prototype may reduce the battery maintenance costs of PV monitoring systems and lead to the development of new such systems which cannot presently be used due to a lack of energy.

Suggested Citation

  • Hasan Demir, 2022. "Application of Thermal Energy Harvesting from Photovoltaic Panels," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-12, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:21:p:8211-:d:962367
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/21/8211/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/15/21/8211/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Cheng, Tsung-Chieh & Cheng, Chin-Hsiang & Huang, Zhu-Zin & Liao, Guo-Chun, 2011. "Development of an energy-saving module via combination of solar cells and thermoelectric coolers for green building applications," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(1), pages 133-140.
    2. Champier, D. & Bedecarrats, J.P. & Rivaletto, M. & Strub, F., 2010. "Thermoelectric power generation from biomass cook stoves," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(2), pages 935-942.
    3. Champier, D. & Bédécarrats, J.P. & Kousksou, T. & Rivaletto, M. & Strub, F. & Pignolet, P., 2011. "Study of a TE (thermoelectric) generator incorporated in a multifunction wood stove," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(3), pages 1518-1526.
    4. Gao, Mingyuan & Su, Chengguang & Cong, Jianli & Yang, Fan & Wang, Yifeng & Wang, Ping, 2019. "Harvesting thermoelectric energy from railway track," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 315-329.
    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. Mohammad Hassan Shojaeefard & Noor Barzan Sakran & Mohammad Mazidi Sharfabadi & Omar A. Hussein & Hussein A. Mohammed, 2023. "Experimental and Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Water Cooling on the Temperature Distribution of Photovoltaic Modules Using Copper Pipes," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(10), pages 1-21, May.

    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. He, Wei & Zhang, Gan & Zhang, Xingxing & Ji, Jie & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong, 2015. "Recent development and application of thermoelectric generator and cooler," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1-25.
    2. Sahin, Ahmet Z. & Yilbas, Bekir S., 2013. "Thermodynamic irreversibility and performance characteristics of thermoelectric power generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 55(C), pages 899-904.
    3. Park, K. & Hwang, H.K. & Seo, J.W. & Seo, W.-S., 2013. "Enhanced high-temperature thermoelectric properties of Ce- and Dy-doped ZnO for power generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 54(C), pages 139-145.
    4. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Liao, Chen-Yeh & Hung, Chen-I & Huang, Wei-Lun, 2012. "Experimental study on thermoelectric modules for power generation at various operating conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 45(1), pages 874-881.
    5. Wang, Chien-Chang & Hung, Chen-I & Chen, Wei-Hsin, 2012. "Design of heat sink for improving the performance of thermoelectric generator using two-stage optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 39(1), pages 236-245.
    6. Kütt, Lauri & Millar, John & Karttunen, Antti & Lehtonen, Matti & Karppinen, Maarit, 2018. "Thermoelectric applications for energy harvesting in domestic applications and micro-production units. Part I: Thermoelectric concepts, domestic boilers and biomass stoves," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 519-544.
    7. Li, Guo-neng & Zhang, Shuai & Zheng, You-qu & Zhu, Ling-yun & Guo, Wen-wen, 2018. "Experimental study on a stove-powered thermoelectric generator (STEG) with self starting fan cooling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 502-512.
    8. Su, Shanhe & Liu, Tie & Wang, Junyi & Chen, Jincan, 2014. "Evaluation of temperature-dependent thermoelectric performances based on PbTe1−yIy and PbTe: Na/Ag2Te materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 79-85.
    9. Hongkun Lv & Guoneng Li & Youqu Zheng & Jiangen Hu & Jian Li, 2018. "Compact Water-Cooled Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) Based on a Portable Gas Stove," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-19, August.
    10. Najjar, Yousef S.H. & Kseibi, Musaab M., 2017. "Thermoelectric stoves for poor deprived regions – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 597-602.
    11. Mehetre, Sonam A. & Panwar, N.L. & Sharma, Deepak & Kumar, Himanshu, 2017. "Improved biomass cookstoves for sustainable development: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 73(C), pages 672-687.
    12. Sajid, Muhammad & Hassan, Ibrahim & Rahman, Aziz, 2017. "An overview of cooling of thermoelectric devices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 15-22.
    13. Park, K. & Lee, G.W., 2013. "Fabrication and thermoelectric power of π-shaped Ca3Co4O9/CaMnO3 modules for renewable energy conversion," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 87-93.
    14. Li, Guoneng & Zheng, Youqu & Hu, Jiangen & Guo, Wenwen, 2019. "Experiments and a simplified theoretical model for a water-cooled, stove-powered thermoelectric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C), pages 437-448.
    15. Patyk, Andreas, 2013. "Thermoelectric generators for efficiency improvement of power generation by motor generators – Environmental and economic perspectives," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 1448-1457.
    16. Mustafa, K.F. & Abdullah, S. & Abdullah, M.Z. & Sopian, K., 2017. "A review of combustion-driven thermoelectric (TE) and thermophotovoltaic (TPV) power systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 572-584.
    17. Bansal, Mohit & Saini, R.P. & Khatod, D.K., 2013. "Development of cooking sector in rural areas in India—A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 44-53.
    18. O’Shaughnessy, S.M. & Deasy, M.J. & Kinsella, C.E. & Doyle, J.V. & Robinson, A.J., 2013. "Small scale electricity generation from a portable biomass cookstove: Prototype design and preliminary results," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 374-385.
    19. Manoj Kumar, & Sachin Kumar, & Tyagi, S.K., 2013. "Design, development and technological advancement in the biomass cookstoves: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 26(C), pages 265-285.
    20. Guoneng, Li & Youqu, Zheng & Hongkun, Lv & Jiangen, Hu & Jian, Li & Wenwen, Guo, 2020. "Micro combined heat and power system based on stove-powered thermoelectric generator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 160-171.

    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:gam:jeners:v:15:y:2022:i:21:p:8211-:d:962367. 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: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    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.