An investigation on the suitability of grid connected PV inverters for thermoelectric generator systems in industrial applications

This paper presents a technical feasibility study on the suitability of grid-connected Photovoltaic (GCPV) inverters for Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) systems. With no grid connected inverters exclusively designed for TEG applications currently available in the market, solar inverters have to be installed in their place or new inverters have to be designed especially for TEGs. Several important parameters such as inverter Maximum Power Point (MPP) voltage window and maximum permissible dc input power need to be considered for determining the suitability of GCPV inverters for TEG applications. Unlike Photovoltaics (PV), owing to the linear I-V characteristics, for a TEG with open circuit voltage and short circuit current being the maximum dc voltage and current rating of the inverter respectively, the entire operation lies within the operating range of the inverter. The goal of this paper is to draw the attention of industries and inverter manufacturers to these aspects and give an overview of the technical issues in connecting a GCPV inverter to a TEG system.