Estudio, diseño y optimización de sistemas híbridos de alta concentración fotovoltaica y generación termoeléctrica

Resum

One strategy to improve photovoltaic solar technology is to produce extra energy by combining concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) and thermoelectric generation (TEG) by taking advantage of the residual heat flow. The aim of this Doctoral Thesis is to design and manufacture a solar receiver that integrates the solar cell, thermoelectric device and the cooling system, focusing on reaching the maximum possible optical concentration ratio. For this, the refrigeration capacity of passive systems for high concentration levels have been previously studied; Subsequently, different 1D and 3D models have been used to simulate, optimize and compare the performance in the production of electrical energy of hybrid systems with respect to non-hybrid ones; Finally, a hybrid mono-module prototype was manufactured with the means available in the laboratory and characterized both under controlled laboratory conditions (indoors) and under real operating conditions (outdoors). As a conclusion, we can say that hybridization does not seem to be energetically feasible for very high concentration levels with the technology of solar cells and TEG available today.