The development of renewable energy technologies to take advantage of clean energy sources, such as solar, is crucial for sustainability. Here, we show a hybrid solar thermoelectric (HSTE) concept that simultaneously recovers heat from the sun with a thermosyphon and generates electricity with a thermoelectric generator (TEG) via the Seebeck effect. In this work, we experimentally demonstrated a relatively low-temperature HSTE prototype that combines a cartridge heater (to emulate the sun), a TEG to generate electricity, and a thermosyphon. This thermosyphon consists of three zones: an evaporator, an adiabatic region, and a condenser. The TEG was located between the heater and the evaporator. The thermosyphon was used to maintain constant the low-temperature face of the TEG and to recover heat in the condenser zone. A thermal resistance model was developed to understand the HSTE. Our model shows good agreement with the experimental data and guides the further development of the system. To evaluate the technical feasibility and performance of the HSTE, we characterized the HSTE by measuring the temperatures, condenser flow rate, voltage, and current under 72 different experimental conditions. We reported an electrical power of up to 96 mW and a recovered heat up to 68.18 W, when 118 W were supplied through the cartridge heater. Deionized water was the working fluid showing a higher electrical power generation than a 40% ethylene glycol solution.

开发可再生能源技术以利用诸如太阳能之类的清洁能源对可持续发展至关重要。在这里，我们展示了一种混合太阳能热电（HSTE）概念，该概念同时通过热虹吸管从太阳中回收热量，并通过塞贝克效应利用热电发电机（TEG）发电。在这项工作中，我们通过实验证明了一种相对低温的HSTE原型，该原型结合了筒式加热器（模拟太阳），TEG发电和热虹吸管。该热虹吸管由三个区域组成：蒸发器，绝热区域和冷凝器。TEG位于加热器和蒸发器之间。热虹吸管用于保持TEG的低温面恒定并回收冷凝器区域中的热量。开发了热阻模型以了解HSTE。我们的模型与实验数据显示出良好的一致性，并指导系统的进一步开发。为了评估HSTE的技术可行性和性能，我们通过在72种不同的实验条件下测量温度，冷凝器流速，电压和电流来表征HSTE。当通过筒式加热器提供118 W的功率时，我们报告的功率高达96 mW，回收的热量高达68.18W。去离子水是比40％乙二醇溶液显示更高发电量的工作流体。我们通过在72种不同的实验条件下测量温度，冷凝器流速，电压和电流来表征HSTE。当通过筒式加热器提供118 W的功率时，我们报告的功率高达96 mW，回收的热量高达68.18W。去离子水是比40％乙二醇溶液显示更高发电量的工作流体。我们通过在72种不同的实验条件下测量温度，冷凝器流速，电压和电流来表征HSTE。当通过筒式加热器提供118 W的功率时，我们报告的功率高达96 mW，回收的热量高达68.18W。去离子水是比40％乙二醇溶液显示更高发电量的工作流体。