Experimental investigation on spectrum beam splitting photovoltaic–thermoelectric generator under moderate solar concentrations

• Published in: Energy (Oxford) Vol. 238; p. 121988
• Main Authors: Mahmoudinezhad, S., Cotfas, D.T., Cotfas, P.A., Skjølstrup, Enok J.H., Pedersen, K., Rosendahl, L., Rezania, A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Elsevier Ltd 01.01.2022; Elsevier BV
• Subjects: Beam splitters; Energy harvesting; Hybrid system; Hybrid systems; Maximum power; Performance evaluation; Photovoltaic; Photovoltaic cells; Photovoltaics; Power conversion efficiency; Solar energy; Spectrum beam splitting; Splitting; Thermoelectric generator; Thermoelectric generators; Thermoelectricity; Photovoltaic; Thermoelectric generator; Spectrum beam splitting; Power conversion efficiency; Hybrid system
• ISSN: 0360-5442; 1873-6785
• DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.121988

An experimental study is carried out to investigate performance of three different solar energy harvesting systems. The critical electrical outputs of a photovoltaic (PV) cell and a thermoelectric generator (TEG) namely voltage, current and maximum power generation are obtained in a PV-only and a TEG-only system. The results are compared with performance of a hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator-beam splitter (PV-TEG-BS) system. The impact of spectral beam splitting technique on performance of the hybrid system is investigated. The results show that, although using the beam splitting technique decreases power generation of the TEG compared to the TEG-only case, it significantly enhances power generation of the PV cell in the hybrid PV-TEG-BS system and provides a higher overall power generation. By showing remarkable impact of the spectrum splitting technique on performance of the PV, the results of this study provide a guideline for performance evaluation of hybrid PV-TEG-BS systems. •An experimental study is carried out to investigate of PV-TEG-BS hybrid module.•Impact of spectral beam splitter on performance of hybrid module is explored.•Voltage, current and maximum output power are obtained.•Using beam splitting technique enhances overall power generation.