IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jeners/v17y2024i2p430-d1319947.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Efficiency Enhancement in Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Hybrid Systems through Cooling Strategies

Author

Listed:
  • Selcuk Bulat

    (Department of Nanoscience and Nanoengineering, Institute of Natural Sciences, Sakarya University, Sakarya 54187, Turkey
    Turkish Standards Institution, İstanbul 34953, Turkey)

  • Erdal Büyükbicakci

    (Department of Computer Technologies, Vocational School of Karasu, University of Applied Sciences, Sakarya 54500, Turkey
    Power Electronics Technologies Research and Application Center, University of Applied Sciences, Sakarya 54500, Turkey)

  • Mustafa Erkovan

    (Instituto de Engenharia de Sistemas e Computadores—Microsistemas e Nanotecnologias (INESC MN), 1000-029 Lisbon, Portugal
    Department of Fundamental Sciences and Engineering, Sivas University of Science and Technology, Sivas 58000, Turkey)

Abstract

The integration of photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) modules in PV-TE systems has shown potential for expanding the utilization of the solar spectrum, enhancing the total power output, and reducing the space that is required for PV power plants. This paper discusses the characteristics of a practical PV-TE system model. Typically, to boost the power output of the TE component, a significant temperature difference is induced across the thermoelectric generator (TEG) module using various heat removal methods. These cooling techniques not only enhance the TEG module’s efficiency but may also improve the performance of the PV component. In this study, we evaluate the efficiencies of PV-TE systems that are equipped with polycrystalline silicon solar cells and seven distinct TEGs under four different conditions. Initially, the PV-TE hybrid systems are tested without a cooling mechanism at an ambient temperature of 25 °C (Standard Test Conditions EN/IEC 61215). Subsequently, we examine the systems with a passive cooling approach, employing aluminum heat sinks to facilitate improved heat dissipation. Further tests involve an active cooling system using water and then nanofluid as coolants. The results from these assessments aim to establish a benchmark for enhancing the efficiency of future PV-TE systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Selcuk Bulat & Erdal Büyükbicakci & Mustafa Erkovan, 2024. "Efficiency Enhancement in Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Hybrid Systems through Cooling Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-12, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:17:y:2024:i:2:p:430-:d:1319947
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/2/430/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/17/2/430/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    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. Chow, T.T., 2010. "A review on photovoltaic/thermal hybrid solar technology," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 87(2), pages 365-379, February.
    3. Gao, Yuanzhi & Wu, Dongxu & Dai, Zhaofeng & Wang, Changling & Zhu, Liutao & Zhang, Jili & Xu, Guoying & Zhang, Xiaosong, 2023. "A passive evaporative cooling strategy to enhance the electricity production of hybrid PV-STEG system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    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. Cui, Tengfei & Xuan, Yimin & Yin, Ershuai & Li, Qiang & Li, Dianhong, 2017. "Experimental investigation on potential of a concentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric system with phase change materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 94-102.
    2. Yin, Ershuai & Li, Qiang & Xuan, Yimin, 2018. "Optimal design method for concentrating photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 320-329.
    3. Ren, Xiao & Li, Jing & Hu, Mingke & Pei, Gang & Jiao, Dongsheng & Zhao, Xudong & Ji, Jie, 2019. "Feasibility of an innovative amorphous silicon photovoltaic/thermal system for medium temperature applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 252(C), pages 1-1.
    4. Miao, Zhuang & Meng, Xiangning & Zhou, Sen & Zhu, Miaoyong, 2020. "Thermo-mechanical analysis on thermoelectric legs arrangement of thermoelectric modules," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(P1), pages 2272-2278.
    5. Ehsan F Abbas & Tahseen A Tahseen & N A Madlol & Hulya S Sulaiman & Hussein A Z Al-bonsrulah & Vijayanandh Raja & Mohammed Al-Bahrani, 2022. "High performance evaluation of a PV/T hybrid system connected with a thermal store unit holding paraffin wax [The effect of adding paraffin wax to PVT collector on its efficiency: a practical study," International Journal of Low-Carbon Technologies, Oxford University Press, vol. 17, pages 1158-1165.
    6. Marco Noro & Simone Mancin & Roger Riehl, 2021. "Energy and Economic Sustainability of a Trigeneration Solar System Using Radiative Cooling in Mediterranean Climate," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(20), pages 1-18, October.
    7. Zhang, Wei & Zhu, Rui & Liu, Bin & Ramakrishna, Seeram, 2012. "High-performance hybrid solar cells employing metal-free organic dye modified TiO2 as photoelectrode," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(1), pages 305-308.
    8. Calise, Francesco & Cipollina, Andrea & Dentice d’Accadia, Massimo & Piacentino, Antonio, 2014. "A novel renewable polygeneration system for a small Mediterranean volcanic island for the combined production of energy and water: Dynamic simulation and economic assessment," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 675-693.
    9. Selimefendigil, Fatih & Öztop, Hakan F., 2020. "Identification of pulsating flow effects with CNT nanoparticles on the performance enhancements of thermoelectric generator (TEG) module in renewable energy applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1076-1086.
    10. Mojiri, Ahmad & Stanley, Cameron & Rodriguez-Sanchez, David & Everett, Vernie & Blakers, Andrew & Rosengarten, Gary, 2016. "A spectral-splitting PV–thermal volumetric solar receiver," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 169(C), pages 63-71.
    11. Shao, Nina & Ma, Liangdong & Zhang, Jili, 2020. "Experimental investigation on the performance of direct-expansion roof-PV/T heat pump system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    12. Sanzana Tabassum & Tanvin Rahman & Ashraf Ul Islam & Sumayya Rahman & Debopriya Roy Dipta & Shidhartho Roy & Naeem Mohammad & Nafiu Nawar & Eklas Hossain, 2021. "Solar Energy in the United States: Development, Challenges and Future Prospects," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(23), pages 1-65, December.
    13. Pratik Mochi & Kartik Pandya & Joao Soares & Zita Vale, 2023. "Optimizing Power Exchange Cost Considering Behavioral Intervention in Local Energy Community," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-15, May.
    14. Rasel, Mohammad Sala Uddin & Park, Jae-Yeong, 2017. "A sandpaper assisted micro-structured polydimethylsiloxane fabrication for human skin based triboelectric energy harvesting application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 150-158.
    15. Alobaid, Mohammad & Hughes, Ben & Calautit, John Kaiser & O’Connor, Dominic & Heyes, Andrew, 2017. "A review of solar driven absorption cooling with photovoltaic thermal systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 76(C), pages 728-742.
    16. Islam, Kazi & Riggs, Brian & Ji, Yaping & Robertson, John & Spitler, Christopher & Romanin, Vince & Codd, Daniel & Escarra, Matthew D., 2019. "Transmissive microfluidic active cooling for concentrator photovoltaics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 236(C), pages 906-915.
    17. Abdalqader Ahmad & Helena Navarro & Saikat Ghosh & Yulong Ding & Jatindra Nath Roy, 2021. "Evaluation of New PCM/PV Configurations for Electrical Energy Efficiency Improvement through Thermal Management of PV Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(14), pages 1-18, July.
    18. Zhao, Kai & Tian, Zhenyu & Zhang, Jinrui & Lu, Buchu & Hao, Yong, 2023. "Methanol steam reforming reactor with fractal tree-shaped structures for photovoltaic–thermochemical hybrid power generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 330(PB).
    19. Shen, Rong & Gou, Xiaolong & Xu, Haoyu & Qiu, Kuanrong, 2017. "Dynamic performance analysis of a cascaded thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 808-815.
    20. Duan, Mengfan & Sun, Hongli & Lin, Borong & Wu, Yifan, 2021. "Evaluation on the applicability of thermoelectric air cooling systems for buildings with thermoelectric material optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).

    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:17:y:2024:i:2:p:430-:d:1319947. 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.