Performance investigation of a hybrid photovoltaic/thermoelectric system integrated with parabolic trough collector

In this study, a non-dimensional model of a tri-generation unit consisting parabolic trough solar collector, integrated with solar cell and thermoelectric generator is presented. In order to obtain the effects of solar irradiance and ambient temperature on the performance of the system, a set of functions were coded in the MATLAB software. Eight nonlinear algebraic equations were derived and solved via the iterative Newton-Raphson technique. The thermal and electrical efficiencies, the electrical characteristics of the thermoelectric and photovoltaic modules, and the thermal and electrical power of the hybrid device were analyzed in this study. The results have reflected some improvements on the electrical efficiency by placing thermoelectric module and solar cell on the lateral area of the absorber tube. Furthermore, an electrical power of 22.714 W could be reached at the solar concentration of 998 W/m2. In order to validate the results of the mathematical model, two research works have been utilized. The evaluation of the obtained results shows a good agreement with the results in the literature.