Modeling and Evaluation of a Hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric System to Obtain a Higher Energy Yield under Identical Operating Conditions

The goal of this article is to develop and test a hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric system that will produce more energy than a conventional system under the same operating conditions. The increase in anticipated yield results from the PV module’s working temperature being lowered by cooling it using a group of thermoelectric cells. The ability to employ a thermoelectric cell (TEC) as a refrigerator in which heat is transported between one face and its opposite when an electrical power source is applied to the cell’s terminals is of interest in this work. In order to compare the proposed system with a reference system, the identical cells were placed in a similar set of simulated settings, but the reference system did not use a TEC cell array to regulate the operational temperature. In order to accomplish this, a number of environmental factors that encourage overheating are used. Additionally, it has been established that managing the power sent to the FC battery array is crucial to the system’s ability to maintain power continuity. Computer simulations were used to produce the results shown. In hypothetical future experiments the authors might conduct as a continuation of this study, the model’s specifics might be altered to better match local conditions. Use high-quality TE batteries, the best forced load model for studies, and the equivalent circuit of components that change with temperature are some suggestions for various test scenarios.