Performance evaluation of unconcentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator hybrid system under tropical climate

Abstract

Indoor farming is among the approaches which can be adapted to improve agricultural sustainability and ensure the food security of countries. However, adopting indoor farming requires a high amount of energy to sustain the system. Incorporating a renewable energy system for supplying power to agricultural activities will allow the system to be more sustainable in the long run. An unconcentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (PV-TEG) hybrid system is designed based on the load requirement of an indoor farm. The hybrid system performance under Malaysia's weather conditions was investigated and analyzed over three months. The designed system has shown its ability to provide sufficient power to the load, as well as supporting an additional load. Besides that, the TEGs power output was found to be dependent on the temperature as well as the types of connections used, where a higher temperature difference and series connection exhibited a better power output. Overall, the combination of the system showed that the addition of a TEG affects the efficiency and power output as compared to a standalone PV. Therefore, this implies that the hybrid system is able to exhibit a more positive outcome in certain weather conditions than a PV standalone system.