Comprehensive Review of Methods and Instruments for Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Generator Hybrid System Characterization

Abstract

Finding new sustainable energy sources or improving the efficiencies of the existing ones represents a very important research and development direction. The hybridization approach is one solution for increasing the efficiency of the existing energy sources. In the case of photovoltaic technology, the hybridization of the photovoltaic panels (PV) with thermoelectric generators (TEGs) has become a more interesting solution for the research community in the last decade. Thus, a comprehensive review of the characterization methods and instruments used in PV-TEG hybrid system study represents the objective of this work. PV and TEG equivalent circuits are presented. The instruments and software applications used for the measurements and simulations are presented and analyzed. The analysis of the literature reveals that there are many papers that offer partial or no information about the instruments used or about the measurement quality (accuracies, uncertainties, etc.). In hybrid system modeling, the preferred software applications are MATLAB (MathWorks, Natick, MA, USA) and COMSOL Multiphysics (Comsol, Burlington, MA, USA), while for experimental studies based on computers, LabVIEW (NI, Austin, TX, USA) is preferred. This review work could be interesting for researchers and engineers who are interested in finding solutions for characterizing or monitoring hybrid system components, but it is not limited to these.

A Sine Cosine Algorithm-Based Fractional MPPT for Thermoelectric Generation System

“…The overview of the TEG module is shown in Figure 1a. The fundamental element is a thermocouple that contains p-type and n-type semiconductors [1][2][3][4][5][6]25,26]. These conductors were electrically interconnected in series using a metal strip.…”

“…Based on the concept of maximum power transfer [5][6][7][8], the most obtainable power of the TEG could be reached when the load resistance was similar to the inner resistance of the TEG.…”

“…These thermal devices have received increasing focus due to their capability to directly transform waste heat into electricity. Made up of different thermocouples, joined electrically in series and thermally in parallel, these heat modules are extensively utilized in various areas and domains, thanks to their attractive merits in terms of their power efficiency, the absence of moving parts and pollution, silent operation, free maintenance, and a long service life [1,2,5,6]. These thermal converters have gained increasing interest in the research fields concerned with their modeling, control, and optimization in various real-world applica-tions.…”

Evaluation of Thermoelectric Generators under Mismatching Conditions

“…A single thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a device composed of semiconductor materials (N and P-type) connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel (More than two modules can be electrically connected either in series or parallel) that produces electric power from a temperature difference (Seebeck effect), or cooling from an electric potential source (Peltier effect) [1]. These devices are used in a wide range of applications i.e., bio-integrated wearable devices [2], pipe heat energy waste [3], automobile exhaust heat [4,5], heat exchangers [6], combustion engines [7,8], photovoltaic systems [9][10][11], and space exploration [12][13][14].…”

Simulation of Photovoltaic Thermoelectric Battery Characteristics

“…Despite the improvement of the technology for the production of solar cells (SCs) and the manufacture of new structures of semiconductor materials, scientists continue to search for other possibilities for more rational structures and algorithms for the operation of PV batteries. One of the reasons of the decrease in the efficiency of SCs is that part of the absorbed energy is converted into heat, which can lead to overheating of both single SCs and the entire battery; moreover, performance characteristics deterioration and their service life decrease can occur when using solar radiation concentrators [5][6][7].…”