Trifold PV-T-TEG (photovoltaic-thermal-thermoelectric generators) panel characterization overview

Abstract

The anticipated depletion of conventional fuels (crude oil, coal) reserves as energy sources triggered extended researches for renewable energy sources. In the last few decades, technologies for energy conversion from solar to electric and thermal energy evolved rapidly. Some recent photovoltaic (PV) panel cooling methods involve thermoelectric (TE) elements. The authors proposed a trifold panel that employs both thermal (T) and TE cooling to lower the temperature of PV panel operation and extract energy from waste heat. Recently, an important number of publications tackled various aspects of PV-TE and PV-T-TE hybrid systems, especially for building integration applications. This paper attempts to cover important topics, with emphasis on aspects related to design and characterization of mobile applications.