Modeling Integrated Thermoelectric Generator- Photovoltaic Thermal (TEG-PVT) System

A 2D steady state heat conduction- electric current model was created in COMSOL Multiphysics to study the performance of thermoelectric generator-photovoltaic-thermal (TEG-PVT) system. Four different cases were studied in the paper. In case 1, PV cells without concentrator was simulated while in case 2, concentrator ratio range from 2 to 5 was utilized In case 3, the convection heat transfer coefficient was varied between 6.2 and 14.2 W/m 2 K. The value of thermal insulation between PV cells and TEG was decreased for case 4. The results indicate that having higher concentration ration results in more power generation while increases convection heat transfer coefficient between outside surfaces and atmosphere and lower thermal resistance between PV cells and TEG help keep the PV temperature at optimum level.