Solar Parabolic Dish Thermoelectric Generator with Acrylic Cover

The use of solar energy in the production of electricity is gaining momentum for obvious reasons. This article presents an experimental model of thermoelectric generator driven by a solar parabolic dish collector having open mouth diameter of 3.56 m with focal length of 1.11 m. The focal receiver is embedded by flat thermoelectric modules with an absorber plate and it is enclosed in an acrylic cover. Experiments were conducted at a constant flow rate of heat transfer fluid of water. There is a substantial increase in the overall efficiency of the system. An Empirical relationship to find the system efficiency, over a range of solar beam radiation, with and without cover is also presented