Performance characteristics of a low concentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid power generation device

A theoretical model of a hybrid power generation device consisting of a low concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) module and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is established in this paper. The expressions for the efficiency and power output of the hybrid device are derived and the performance characteristics of the device are presented and discussed in detail, based on non-equilibrium thermodynamics theory and law of conservation of energy. The maximum power output of the hybrid device is calculated numerically and the load electric resistances of the CPV and TEG are determined optimally. The influences of several important factors such as the thermal conductance between the CPV and the TEG, the current of the CPV, the solar irradiation, the concentrating ratio and the figure of merit of the TEG on the power output of the hybrid device are analyzed. It is found that there exist certain optimum criteria for some important parameters. The results obtained here may provide some useful criteria for the optimal design and performance improvements of a typical irreversible CPV-TEG hybrid device and other similar hybrid system as well. (C) 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.