Experimental studies on a low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (LCPV/T) collector with a thermoelectric generator (TEG) module

• Published in: Renewable energy 2021-06, Vol.171, p.1026-1040
• Main Authors: Zhang, Heng, Yue, Han, Huang, Jiguang, Liang, Kai, Chen, Haiping
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: LCPV/T; Photovoltaic cells; Solar energy; Solar heating; Thermoelectricity
• ISSN: 0960-1481; 1879-0682
• DOI: 10.1016/j.renene.2021.02.133

This paper presents a low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal (LCPV/T) collector with thermoelectric generator (TEG) which is connected in series. LCPV/T produces heat and electricity while TEG transforms low-grade heat which is gained from LCPV/T into high-grade electricity. In this paper, the mathematical model is built, and the test rig is established to validity the numerical model. The performance of the proposed system under different ambient conditions is studied by test rig with biaxial tracking system. Besides, the effects of environmental parameters, the economic analysis and energy saving of the system in different seasons are also analyzed. The study result shows that the PV/T collector produces the maximum temperature of domestic hot water about 52.96 °C and a daily average electric power of 436.13W with daily average electrical efficiency of 14.34% in summer. By using the TEG module, another 1.68W (2.85‰ of the 436.13W) is generated in summer. In addition, the performance between LCPV/T in series and in parallel is researched. Moreover, the system have the potential of reducing the use of primary energy. •A LCPV/T-TEG system that LCPV/T and TEG connect in series is firstly proposed.•The performance under different seasons is measured by experiment and simulation.•The highest efficiency of PV is 14.34%, and the highest TEG power is 1.68W.•The conversion of low-grade heat to high-grade power is realized.