Performance analysis of Heat Pipe-based Concentrated Photovoltaic/Thermal-Thermoelectric Generator Hybrid system (CPV/TEG)

Concentrating photovoltaic technology is growing more rapidly than any other solar energy technology, attaining electrical conversion efficiency above 43%. Much research has been conducted on photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated photovoltaic (CPV) technologies which has identified that only certain percentage of the absorbed incident energy is converted into electricity, despite the fact the other percentage remain as a thermal energy which accumulates on the surface of the PV which causes an elevated temperatures. The temperature raised at the surface of the PV module is addressed as one of the most factor that influencing the performance of the cells which causes a serious degradations and shortens the life-time of the PV, therefore cooling the CPV module during the operation is extremely significant. Hybrid PV approaches that produce both electrical energy and heat simultaneously, and which are sensitive to a wider range of the solar spectrum have been demonstrated as providing the most promising solution. In this study, a theoretical computer simulation of the hybrid system which integrates of a Heat pipe-based Concentrated Photovoltaic/thermal-Thermoelectric Generator (HP-CPV/T-TEG) to improve the performance is presented. The presented hybrid system incorporates a low concentrated Photovoltaic module (CPV) for direct electricity generation, a heat pipe to absorb the exceeded heat from the CPV cells and contribute uniform temperature distribution across the cell array, and a thermoelectric Generator (TEG) to accomplish direct heat-to-electricity conversion. A mathematical model based on energy balance process within the system is developed to evaluate the performance of the hybrid system and the improvements that associated with the thermal management of the CPV cells.