New Concept of Power Generation from TEGs Using the Sun Irradiation and Oil Tanks – Thermal Modeling and Parametric Study

In this manuscript, a new concept of power generation from thermoelectric generators TEGs using the sun irradiation and two oil tanks, one hot and one cold, is proposed. It consists of two oil tanks separated by a plate covering several TEGs in series. The oil tank at the bottom of the system constitutes a cold convection condition for the TEGs plate; on the other hand, the upper oil tank accounts for a hot convection condition since its upper surface is transparent and therefore subjected to the sun irradiation that will heat up the oil. To test the feasibility of this concept, an appropriate thermal modeling is developed and associated parametric analysis was carried out. It shows that powers up to 242 W can be generated with a system having a hot oil tank height of 0.2 m along with a width and length of 2 m each.