Recovering waste heat from solar cells via a thermoelectric generator
Scientists in Italy have created a hybrid thermoelectric photovoltaic (HTEPV) system based on a thermoelectric generator and a wide-gap perovskite solar cell. The device is able to recover waste heat from the PV unit and produce additional power. According to its creators, this configuration needs large gap cells as these are less sensitive to temperature in terms of efficiency
A new concept for heat-recovery solar cells
Researchers in Japan have demonstrated a new concept for a ‘heat-recovery’ solar cell, which they claim has the potential to exceed the theoretical limit for cell efficiency. They say, however, that a suitable material for the energy filtering layers is yet to be identified. The cell is equipped with a 100-micron thick silicon absorber, two electrodes and carrier-energy filtering layers placed between the absorber and electrodes.
