Low Sun spectrum on simulation of a thin film photovoltaic, heat absorber, and thermoelectric generator system

Abstract

The research presents the simulation results with Matlab on combining of a type of thin-film photovoltaic module (a-Si), a copper plate heat absorber with thermoelectric generators (TEG) utilizing the standard low-sun spectrum AM1.5G at 0.05, 0.06, 0.07, 0.08, 0.09 and 0.1 Sun as a source of radiation. Amorphous silicon is a type of thin-film solar cell that is more suitable for indoor use so that by using a source of low-intensity light radiation from the sun will still generate electrical energy conversion. Spectrum splitting is used as a cold mirror, which reflects the spectrum of light to the a-Si module in the form of photon energy while transmitting to the TEG module the spectrum of near-infrared light radiation in the form of heat. On the hot side of the TEG, a copper plate was placed to accommodate the heat from light radiation to increase convection heat transfer and temperature differences between the hot and cold sides of the TEG. The simulation results show that the highest efficiency of a-Si module is 3.46% achieved at the lowest spectrum of 0.05 Sun, vice versa TEG is at the highest spectrum at 0.1 Sun and 10.05% its efficiency. This low sun spectrum will be a milestone in the utilization of bulb radiation energy in general domestic needs.