Design of an all-day electrical power generator based on thermoradiative devices

Energy harvesting from sun and outer space using thermoradiative devices(TRDs), despite being promising renewable energy sources, is limited only to daytime and nighttime period, respectively. Such a system with 24-hour continuous electric power generation remains an open question thus far. Here, a TRD-based power generator that harvests solar energy via concentrated solar irradiation during daytime and via thermal infrared emission towards the outer space at nighttime is proposed, thus achieving the much sought-after 24-hour electrical power generation. Correspondingly, a rigorous thermodynamical model is developed to investigate the all-day performance characteristics, parametric optimum design, and the role of various energy loss mechanisms.The calculated results predict that the daytime TRD-based system yields a peak efficiency of 12.6% under 10 suns, thus significantly outperforming the state-of-art record-setting solar thermoelectric generator. This work reveals the potential of TRD towards 24-hour electricity generation and future renewable energy technology.