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Article

Open Access

Modeling, Simulation, and Implementation of a Solar Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting System

Author(s)

Yacouba Moumouni and R. Jacob Baker

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DOI:10.17265/1934-8975/2016.05.005

Affiliation(s)

Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA

ABSTRACT

New alternatives and inventive renewable energy techniques which encompass both generation and power management solutions are fundamental for meeting remote residential energy supply and demand today, especially if the grid is quasi-inexistent. Solar thermoelectric generators mounted on a dual-axis sun tracker can be a cost-effective alternative to photovoltaics for remote residential household power generation. A complete solar thermoelectric energy harvesting system is presented in this paper for energy delivery to remote residential areas in developing regions. To this end, the entire system was built, modeled, and then validated with the LTspice simulator software via the thermal-to-electrical analogy schemes. Valuable data in conjunction with a novel LTspice circuit were obtained, showing the achievability of analyzing transient heat transfer with the SPICE simulator; however a few of the problems to be solved remain at the practical level. Despite the unusual operation of the thermoelectric modules with the solar radiation, the simulation and measurements were in good agreement, thus validating the new modeling strategy.

KEYWORDS

Solar thermoelectric generator, developing regions, LTspice, DC-DC converter, thermal-to-electrical analogy.

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