COMBINED THERMOVOLTAIC/PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE AND COLLECTOR WITH IONIC LIQUIDS

• Main Author: POMMERSHEIM, Rainer
• Format: Patent
• Language: English; French; German
• Published: 11.09.2019
• Subjects: BLASTING; CONVERSION OR DISTRIBUTION OF ELECTRIC POWER; ELECTRICITY; GENERATION; GENERATION OF ELECTRIC POWER BY CONVERSION OF INFRA-REDRADIATION, VISIBLE LIGHT OR ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT, E.G. USINGPHOTOVOLTAIC [PV] MODULES; HEATING; LIGHTING; MECHANICAL ENGINEERING; RANGES; SOLAR HEAT COLLECTORS; SOLAR HEAT SYSTEMS; VENTILATING; WEAPONS

The invention relates to a module which can be integrated into solar collectors and is capable of converting thermal energy directly into electrical energy. It is based on the thermoelectric effect of special ionic liquids which flow in ducts inside an electrical and thermal insulation layer. On the top side and underside of these ducts are electrodes which are made of an electrically and thermally conductive material and are in contact with the ionic liquid within the ducts. Any temperature difference between the top side and the underside of these ducts generates an electrical potential difference which can be tapped at the electrodes. The ducts have cross sections for example from the μm range to the mm range. They are arranged tightly packed in the modules and can be connected either in series or in parallel. If the modules are joined to form a collector, these modules can equally be connected to one another in series or in parallel. The invention describes both individual modules and also arrangements of modules, that is to say collectors for obtaining electrical energy directly from heat. Both the modules and the collectors can be combined with existing photovoltaic modules and collectors. The concept can also be integrated directly into these, leading to an increase in the energy yield. In specific cases, modules as described here can also be used to produce electronics components such as sensors or the like. The concept described in the invention can be used to produce various collectors for directly obtaining electrical energy from thermal energy. The modules or collectors described here can be part of various systems for producing energy.