Experimental analysis of thermoelectric generator using solar energy

Abstract

In this paper, the performance of a 4×4 cm2 Bismuth Telluride based thermoelectric generator with 126 thermocouples connected in series is analyzed experimentally under different environmental conditions. The hot junction of the thermoelectric generator is exposed to solar and candle heat and the cold side is exposed to atmosphere. With the hot junction temperature of 53°C and cold junction temperature of 32°C, the output voltage, current and power are measured as 0.35V, 0.042A and 0.014W respectively. The hot junction of the thermoelectric generator is then exposed to solar concentrator heat and the cold side is exposed to ice. With the hot junction temperature of 100.2°C and cold junction temperature of 2.9°C, the output voltage, and power are measured as 2.96V, 0.1083A and 0.319W respectively. The power output is increased by 30.5%. The power density is 2.11μ Wcm-2 °C-2.