Critical factors and parameters for hybrid Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric systems; review

Creativity and innovation play an important role in the renewable energy development domain. Alongside research, these lead to the identification of the optimum solutions to use photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric modules (PV/TE) together in a hybrid system. This review paper outlines and discusses critical factors and important design parameters for components and for the hybrid system. In this paper, active material properties of PV and TE devices are introduced. Geometrical structural parameters leading to maximum power generation and conversion efficiency are discussed, and also the new trend in the design of the photovoltaic modules is considered for their integration in the urban landscape. Moreover, performance of the hybrid system is conjugated to effective boundary conditions caused by the solar irradiation, temperature and applied cooling technologies. Furthermore, this review paper, considers the thermal effect of the TE module on the PV cells and electric connections. The thermal interface materials, thermo-mechanical stability, maximum power point tracking techniques including the inverse analysis, the feasibility of the hybrid system, comparison, and uncertainty analysis are also discussed.