Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Renewable Energy
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/renene
Performance of solar cells using thermoelectric module in hot sites
M. Benghanem a, b, *, A.A. Al-Mashraqi a, K.O. Daffallah a, c
a
Physics Department, Faculty of Science, Taibah University, P.O. Box 30002, Madinah, Saudi Arabia
International Centre of Theoretical Physics, ICTP, Strada Costiera, 1134014 Trieste, Italy
c
Electronics Department, Faculty of Engineering and Technology, University of Gezira, P.O. Box 20, Wadmedani, Sudan
b
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 27 June 2015
Received in revised form
17 September 2015
Accepted 6 December 2015
Available online xxx
The ambient temperature at Madinah site is between 40 C and 50 C during the summer months and
sometimes is over 50 C. The cell temperature reaches the value of 83 C. This affects the behaviors of
solar cells (SC) and decreases their efficiency. The performance of solar cells is presented in this work
using thermoelectric module (TEM) as cooling system. In fact, we have found experimentally that the
efficiency of solar cells decreases with increase in its temperature. The efficiency of solar cells drops by
0.5% per C rise in temperature. So, it's necessary to operate them at lower temperature in order to
increase their efficiency. Cooling the solar cells would enhance its performance. The hybrid PV/TEM
system is proposed for PV applications in hot sites.
© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Solar cells performance
Efficiency
Thermoelectric cooler
Hybrid PV/Thermoelectric system
1. Introduction
Solar energy represents a great potential of renewable energy
source in the world. The solar irradiation and the ambient temperature affect the output power of photovoltaic (PV) system. The
efficiency of solar panels decreases when the temperature of the
solar panels increases [1]. The cooling of solar panels improves its
efficiency.
The application of thermoelectric technology to cool microelectronic circuits is not new. It has been established for some time
that the technology can be used in cooling, heating and micropower generation applications, and can offer some distinct advantages over other technologies. For example, in cooling or
refrigeration, the technology does not require any chlorofluorocarbons or other fluid that may need to be replaced; can achieve
temperature control to within ±0.1 C; is electrically quiet in
operation; the modules are relatively small in size and weight; and
do not import dust or other particles which may cause an electrical
short circuit [2].
A standard thermoelectric module utilizes the Seebeck, Peltier
and Thomson effects and can operate as a heat pump, providing
heating or cooling of an object connected to one side of the module
if a DC current is applied to the module terminals. Alternatively, a
* Corresponding author. ICTP, Strada Costiera, 1134014 Trieste, Italy.
E-mail address: benghanem_mohamed@yahoo.fr (M. Benghanem).
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2015.12.011
0960-1481/© 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
module can generate a small amount of electrical power if a temperature difference is maintained between two terminals [2]. Historically, the motivation for using thermoelectric modules to cool
microelectronic integrated circuits in the computer industry has
been used to increase their clock speed below ambient temperatures, which can be advantageous in some situations [3,4]. As integrated circuit power and power density continue to increase, the
computer industry may begin to approach the limit of forced-air
cooled systems and will need to find alternative solutions [3].
Thermoelectric technology has been highlighted as a possible solution to these problems [5], and there is evidence of ongoing
research into cooling the whole of a microprocessor with a thermoelectric module, and focus on cooling microprocessor ‘hot spots’
using embedded micro-thermoelectric devices incorporated into
the microprocessor die [6].
Recent research has been investigated for PV cooling system.
Water cooling systems have been studied using water spray [7,8]. In
order to cool the building integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) system, a
thermoelectric module (TEM) system has been developed [9]. In
this late, the authors proved that the combined system TEM/PV can
be operated at a solar panel temperature of 53 C, without loss of
solar panels power. Thus, solar panels were cooling at the temperature of 10 C, which will improve the efficiency of solar panels.
Simulation software has been used to study the performances of
solar cells using thermoelectric modules which allowed the increase in the efficiency of solar cell from 6.8% up to 10.92% at 83 C
[10]. Other work has been investigated using thermoelectric
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M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
cooling system to improve the efficiency of PV array. The results
showed that the efficiency of solar cells varied from 8.35% to 11.46%
without cooling system and reached the values of 12.26% up to
13.27% with cooling system [11]. Otherwise, the temperature of the
solar cells can rise up to 70 C, which allow the deterioration of
solar cells minimizing its life and getting a low efficiency [12]. For
this, the authors tried to remove excess heat generated by solar
cells to get good performance of solar cells. In the other hand,
thermal behaviors of a hybrid PV/TEM system integrating a pin heat
sink were investigated. In particular case, when integrating the heat
sink under condition of natural convection, the whole PV/TEM
system was cooled better that using the PV only with heat sink
module and the cooling efficiency is better [13].
One of the most problems of using the PV systems in Saudi
Arabia is the high ambient temperature which can reach the value
of 55 C in summer months. So, this will increase the solar cells
temperature and affect the performance of PV panels. For this, we
propose the hybrid system solar cell/thermoelectric module, not
only to cool the solar cell but also to avoid the heat generated by the
other side of thermoelectric module.
2. Data Base of Temperature at Madinah Site
Madinah site (Latitude ¼ 24.46 N and Longitude ¼ 39.62 E) is
classified as semi-arid area and has a great potential of solar radiation [14], with a daily annual average yield ranges from
4.5 KWh/m2/day until 8.5 KWh/m2/day, received on tilt PV surface.
The data have been recorded in our laboratory at Physics Department since 2008 until June 2015. From the observed data, we note
that the ambient temperature at Madinah site is between 40 C
and 50 C during the summer months as indicated in the Fig. 1.
Sometimes, the ambient temperature is over 50 C as shown in
Fig. 2(aec) corresponding to the year 2011, 2013 and 2014
respectively. So, this will increase the solar cells temperature and
affect the performance of PV panels. For this, we propose the
hybrid system solar cell/thermoelectric module which is a solution
to improve the performance of solar cells in hot locations like
Madinah site.
3. Thermoelectric Effect
Thermoelectric technology is an alternative method of power
generation. The main building structure is the thermoelectric
module (TEM) that can directly convert heat to electricity. This
phenomenon was first observed by Seebeck [15]. The simple
concept is to apply temperature difference between two terminals
that trigger the generation of small amount of power (Fig. 3).
Alternatively, this thermoelectric module can function as a heat
pump according to Seebeck/Peltier effects. As shown in Fig. 3, two
electrical insulating ceramic plates enclose several p-type and ntype thermo elements that are electrically connected in series and
thermally parallel with electrical insulation. As TEM is bi-functional
device which can either operate as Heating/Cooling device [16] or
generate power, this portability feature can well be exploited in
BIPV system for cooling PV module and simultaneously generating
extra power [17].
Thermoelectric module can be used as cooling system using
Peltier effect. The principle is to get a heat flux between the junction of two thermo elements P and N. A Peltier cooler allow the
transfer of heat from one side of Peltier module to the other
depending on the current's direction [18]. We can also use the
Peltier cooler or thermoelectric cooler (TEC) as generator. If, we
want to use the thermoelectric as cooler, we apply a voltage across
the device and then we get that one side of the device is hot and the
other side is cold. The performance of TEC depends on ambient
temperature, design of the heat exchanger, Peltier parameters and
geometry of Peltier module.
When we apply a voltage between two different conductors A
and B, we will get a heat at the junction. The rate dq/dt of the
generated heat is given as follow:
dQ=dt ¼ ðpA pB ÞI
(1)
where I represents the current (from A to B), PA and PB are Peltier's
parameters of the conductors.
4. Solar Cells Model
Many models have been studied in literature for solar cells
[19,20] showing the influence of serial resistance RS, shunt resistance RSH and temperature T on IV characterization. Fig. 4 shows
the equivalent circuit of solar cells [21].
Fig. 4 shows that the current I generated by the solar cell is given
as follow:
I ¼ IL ID ISH
(2)
where IL is the generated photocurrent, ID is the diode current and
ISH is the current through the shunt resistance RSH.
The output voltage V delivered by the solar cell is given as
follow:
V ¼ Vj I,RS
(3)
where Vj is the voltage across both diode and shunt resistance and
RS is the serial resistance.
The current ID is given by the Shockley diode equation:
qVj
1
ID ¼ I0 exp
nkT
Fig. 1. The ambient temperature at Madinah during July 2014.
(4)
Where I0 is the reverse saturation current, n is the diode ideality
factor, q is the elementary charge, k is the Boltzmann's constant, T is
the absolute temperature and k T/q is equal to 0.0259 V at a temperature of 25 C.
M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
a)
53
b)
c)
Fig. 2. (a) The ambient temperature at Madinah site during 14e16 July 2011. (b) The ambient temperature at Madinah site during 18e20 July 2013. (c) The ambient temperature at
Madinah site during 18e20 August 2014.
Fig. 3. Basic single stage thermoelectric module.
The current through the shunt resistance RSH is given as follow:
ISH ¼
Vj
RSH
(5)
Using the Eqs. (3)e(5), the relation (2) becomes:
qðV þ IRS Þ
V þ IRS
1 I ¼ IL I0 exp
nkT
RSH
In this present work, we have measured the values of RS and RSH
before and after cooling the solar cell. We have obtained some
interesting results highlighting the effect of temperature on RS and
RSH.
5. Hybrid System Solar Cell/Thermoelectric Module (SC/TEM)
(6)
The above explicit model has been found more adequate in
previous work [21] to characterize the solar cells.
The hot surface of the TEM is connected to a heat sink to
enhance heat extraction. The other side of the TEM, i.e. the cold
side, is attached to the back side of the solar cell as shown in Fig. 5.
In a sunny day and for several hours during the day, the cell
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M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
ReRa Tracer Software (ReRa solution PV measurement systems,
ReRa Tracer Software Version 1.5.1.3, The Netherlands). ReRa
Tracer is software which allows us to measure the IV curves and
analyze the data by means of different calculation techniques.
Pyranometer (Kipp & Zonen Delft, CM11, Holland), used for solar
radiation measurement.
Thermocouple of type K for measuring the ambient temperature
and cell temperature.
Digital Multimeter (PeakTech, 3695, Germany) connecting with
thermocouple for measuring the ambient and cell temperature.
At the first step, we have used two identical solar mini-panels as
Fig. 4. Equivalent circuit of solar cell.
Fig. 5. Solar cell cooling system using TEM.
temperature as exposed to solar irradiations, can reaches up to
60e80 C.
6. Results
In this experimental work, we have highlighted the effect of
temperature on performance of solar cells. We have used the
thermoelectric module for cooling the solar cells as indicated in the
experimental setup of Fig. 6.
6.1. Experimental Measurements
The measurements are performed at Taibah University Faculty
of Science, Physics Department, Solar Energy Laboratory, Madinah
(KSA). We have measured the IV characteristic of two solar cells,
one without cooling system and the other with cooling system
using thermoelectric module (TEM). For this, we have used the
following instruments:
Source measure (Keithley Instruments Inc., 2420, USA, “ClevelandeOhio”). Measuring the IV curve of a solar cell is done by
exposing the solar cell at a standard solar radiation and using an
electronic load, the experimental IV curve is traced by given
some parameters like serial resistance, fill factor and efficiency
of the tested solar cell.
we can see in Fig. 7a and b. We have used nearly the same conditions for the two solar mini-panels. The results show that we have
got the same parameters for the two panels used before cooling
(Table 1).
At the second step of our experimental work, we have measured
the ambient and cell temperature before and after cooling. In order
to ensure good results, we have used repeated measurement for the
same conditions. Also, the instruments used are calibrated in order
to ensure that the instruments meet their requirements.
Fig. 8 shows that the cell temperature is clearly reduced after
cooling during the day. This is a very important result which will
improve the performance of solar cell as we can see in next
sections.
6.2. Effect of the Temperature on the Solar Cell Characteristics
The temperature affects the currentevoltage (IeV) characteristic of solar cells. In fact, while increasing T, the magnitude of the
exponent in relation 6, reduces and the value of I0 increases
exponentially with T. The apparent effect is to reduce the opencircuit voltage (VOC) linearly with increasing temperature.
The generated photocurrent IL increases with increasing temperature. This is due to the augmentation in the number of thermally generated carriers in the solar cell.
By using the above factors in relation (6), we can deduce the
effect of temperature on solar cell efficiency. In fact, the change in
M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
55
a)
b)
Fig. 6. Experimental setup of solar cell cooling system using thermoelectric module.
voltage in IeV curve due to the temperature is more evident than
the change in current. Then, the overall effect on efficiency seems to
be similar to that voltage. Fig. 9 shows the effect of temperature on
experimental IeV curves.
6.3. Effect of Temperature on Series and Shunt Resistances of Solar
Cell
We have measured the serial resistance of solar cell at different
temperatures [21]. The results show that the increase in temperature will increase the series resistance and then the output voltage
V delivered by the solar cell will be decreased as indicated in
relation (3).
We have also measured the shunt resistance of solar cell at
different temperatures. The current passes through the shunt
resistor increases as the result of decreasing its resistance, for a
certain level of junction voltage. As the result the voltage controlled
portion of the IeV curve begins to drop from the origin producing a
considerable decrease in the terminal current I and a small reduction in VOC. Very low values of RSH will result in a considerable
reduction in VOC. Fig. 10 show the effect of temperature on series
and shunt resistance of solar cell.
We have plot in Fig. 11 the measured values of series resistance
before and after cooling. As we can see the values of series resistance after cooling is smaller than the values of series resistance
before cooling. This is also a good result to get a solar cell with good
performance.
We note that the series resistance decreases while the cell
temperature decreases as indicated in Fig. 12.
We have plot in Fig. 13 the measured values of shunt resistance
before and after cooling. As we can see the values of shunt resistance after cooling is higher than the values of shunt resistance
before cooling. This is also a good result to get a solar cell with good
performance.
Since the series resistance decreases and shunt resistance
Fig. 7. (a). IeV characteristic for mini-panel 1. (b) IeV characteristic for mini-panel 2.
Table 1
The Parameters of two solar mini-panels used before cooling.
Parameters
2
Size (cm )
Solar Irradiation (W/m2)
Cell Temperature ( C)
Ambient Temperature ( C)
Isc (mA)
Jsc (mA/cm2)
Voc (V)
Impp (mA)
Vmpp (V)
Fill factor (%)
Efficiency (%)
Solar mini-panel 1
Solar mini-panel 2
18.8
424
34.6
24
137.85
7.33
2.459
113.54
1.913
64.1
11.6
18.8
443
35.1
23
140.87
7.49
2.383
118.80
1.813
64.2
11.5
Table 2
Average cost, in $/watt, of small scale PV system in local market.
PV system size (kW)
2
3
4
7
10
Cost ($/W)
Cost of hybrid PV/TEM system (%)
1.2
12
1.25
8
1.45
6
1.94
3.6
1.95
3.2
56
M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
55
Cell Temperature (Tc)
Ambient Temperature (Ta)
Cell Temperature after cooling (Tcc)
50
o
Temperature ( C)
45
40
35
30
25
20
09:00
10:15
11:30
12:45
14:00
15:15
Time (Hours)
Fig. 8. Evolution of ambient and cell temperature before and after cooling.
Fig. 10. Effect of series and shunt resistance on the currentevoltage characteristics of a
solar cell.
Fig. 11. Series resistance before and after cooling vs. the time.
Fig. 9. Effect of various temperatures on experimental IeV characteristic.
7. Experimental PV Panel/TEM System Proposed for All PV
Applications in Hot Sites
increases while cooling the solar cell, we have measured the efficiency of solar cell before and after cooling as indicated in Fig. 14.
We note from Fig. 14, that the efficiency of solar cell increases
after cooling. The increase in efficiency % per oC decrease in temperature is shown in Fig. 15 which show that the maximum increase is 1.3% and the minimum is 0.19% with an average of 0.55%.
This is a good result as we can also show in Fig. 16 which we
have represented the efficiency vs. cell temperature. We note that
the efficiency is decreasing when cell temperature is increasing.
Power generated with combined solar cell/Thermoelectric
module (SC/TEM) system with controlled solar cell temperature is
plotted in Fig. 17. We show that maximum power generated by SC is
181 mW at 940 W/m2/25 C. This means, that the maximum power
generated by SC with cooling system is greater than power generated by the same SC without cooling system (see Fig. 18).
Fig. 18 shows the new PV panel/thermoelectric cooling system
which will be applied for all PV panels at hot countries like Saudi
Arabia.
Fig. 19 shows the proposed hybrid PV/TEM system for PV applications in hot countries. We note that an appropriate PV panel is
used for powering different thermoelectric modules. This PV panel
is independent from PV generator sizing for a given application.
7.1. Process of the Proposed System
When the solar radiation is increasing, the PV panel powering
the TEMs modules gives more voltage to drive the TEMs. If this
voltage is increasing, the cold side of TEMs became colder as shown
in Fig. 20. Then, the cell temperature of each PV panel decreases
M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
57
Fig. 14. Efficiency before and after cooling.
Fig. 12. Series resistance vs. cell temperature.
Fig. 13. Shunt resistance before and after cooling vs. the time.
Fig. 15. The increase in efficiency % per C decrease in temperature.
and we get the best performances of the hybrid PV/TEM system in
hot location.
PVC ¼
7.2. Economic Analysis
The objective is to determine the economic viability of a hybrid
PV/TEM system as an alternate energy source in hot countries when
compared to electricity from the grid. The economic analysis will
consider a number of factors such as system location and wattage
cost. The following procedure is used to perform the economic
analysis [22]:
Calculus of energy demand (Q).
Estimation of sunlight hours for the studied site (H).
Estimation of the lowest solar radiation for the considered site
(I).
Calculus of the capacity of PV system (PVC):
Q ,PEP
H ,EP
(7)
Where EP is the efficiency of the PV system and PEP is the percentage of energy needs produced by the PV system.
Calculus of the area of PV system (PVA):
PVA ¼
PVC ,H
I
(8)
Calculus the cost of PV system (CPV) including materials and
installation:
CPV ¼ PVC ,1000,CW
Where CW is the wattage cost.
(9)
58
M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
Fig. 19. Hybrid PV/TEM system.
Fig. 16. Evolution of efficiency of solar cell vs. cell temperature.
Fig. 20. Cold side temperature of TEMs vs. output voltage of PV panel powering the
TEMs.
Fig. 17. Power generated with solar cell/Thermoelectric module (SC/TEM) system.
Fig. 18. PV panel/Thermoelectric module (TEM) cooler system.
The total cost of hybrid PV/TEM system proposed (CTot):
CTot ¼ CPV þ CTEM
costs are based on the local market. Table 2 shows the average cost,
in $/watt, of small scale PV system.
The cost of PV system varies between 1.2 $/W and 1.95 $/W for
the above size. The additional cost of hybrid PV/TEM system varies
between 3.2% and 12%. So the average of the additional cost in the
range of 6% for small scale PV system as indicated in the next
example. For, large scale PV system, the additional cost will be
smaller as showing in Fig. 21, by using the interpolation function.
The comparison includes only systems between 2 and 10 kW,
the most common size range for PV systems installed in experimental projects.
In this analysis, we assume a 1.45 $/W cost difference for small
scale PV systems. This cost difference represents some of the uncertainty in the future capital costs of proposed hybrid PV/TEM
systems. Although there is slight increase in cost, the performance
of the PV system will be better in hot sites since the cooling system
in the hybrid PV/TEM system enhance its performance.
(10)
7.3. Example
Where CTEM is the additional cost of TEM modules needed.The cost
of electricity produced by a solar electric system depends on the
installed capital cost associated with PV, as well as the amount of
electricity generated by the PV system [23]. The Installed PV system
The cost of 4 Kw 24 V Off Grid PV System with all accessories is
5800 $ [24]. 12 solar panels of 300 W are needed. So, we need 12
TEMs which the cost is about 12 13 US$ ¼ 156 US$.
M. Benghanem et al. / Renewable Energy 89 (2016) 51e59
59
systems.
References
Fig. 21. Additional cost of proposed hybrid PV/TEM system vs. PV power.
The cost of the solar panel which powering the 12 TEM modules
is 200 US$. So, the total cost of additional accessories necessary for
Hybrid PV/TEM system is 356 US$. Thus, this means that the cost of
TEM modules and the solar panel powering the TEMs is about 6% of
the total cost of PV systems.
8. Discussion
The maximum Cell temperature without cooling is 83 C. The
obtained results show that the integrated system of SC/TEM can be
operated at 65 C of solar cell temperature without loss of SC. By
operating the solar cell at lower temperature, more power can be
drawn from it for the same solar irradiance as indicated in Fig. 17.
The cell temperature can be cooled down to 18 C which will
enhance life of solar cell. This experimental result can be used to
measure the increase in available power from cooling. Since integrating the thermoelectric module with the solar cell can increase
efficiency of the system, additional cost of using thermoelectric
module is necessary, but this should be balanced with additional
output power from the system.
9. Conclusion
In this paper, we conclude that the efficiency of the solar cells
will increase by integrating the thermoelectric device with the
solar cells forming a hybrid system.
The thermoelectric module is operated in cooling mode and
attached at the back side of the solar cells. This result has improved
the performance of solar cells and its efficiency increases by 0.5%
per oC decrease in temperature. The hybrid PV/TEM system proposed for PV applications in hot sites give good performances while
the additional cost is about 6% of the total cost of classical PV
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