Abstract:

In this article, a small-scale concentration photovoltaic-thermoelectric (CPV/TE) hybrid system is designed and built, which is proved by experiment. Then, the system’s compositions are introduced, and the mathematical expression of its output power is derived. According to experiment result, the short-circuit current of solar cells has almost linear dependence on the solar irradiation with a higher growth rate at low irradiation. Compared with a CPV-only system working under air cooling condition, the CPV-TE hybrid system has a higher open-circuit voltage. The daily average increment of it is 0.16V which means an average enhancement of 5.67%. The maximum output power of the thermoelectric generator, which is 0.52W, appears in the descending part of the solar irradiation curve and the total generating capacity of the thermoelectric generator is 2.9 W·h.

Key words: solar hybrid system; photovoltaic; thermoelectric generator； Fresnel concentrator