Thermal modelling, performance analysis and exergy study of a concentrated semi-transparent photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (CSPV-TEG) hybrid power generation system

In this study, a thermodynamic model for concentrated semi-transparent-photovoltaic thermoelectric generator (CSPV-TEG) hybrid power generation system has been developed. Using the model, solar cell temperature, exergy and electrical efficiency of the hybrid system, temperature difference across TEG, power output and photovoltaic conversion efficiency of the PV module and the electrical efficiency of the TEG module have been calculated. The simulation of the system, using MATLAB, was conducted for clear day in May for New Delhi by varying the concentration ratio (C) and the number of p-n thermocouples (N). The results illustrate that for the hybrid system, maximum power output of 219.75 W was obtained for C = 2 N = 200 case and peak electrical efficiency of 10.44% was obtained for C = 1 N = 200 case. The peak value of the exergy efficiency of the hybrid system exceeded the peak value of electrical efficiency of the hybrid system by 1.33%.