A review on energy conversion using hybrid photovoltaic and thermoelectric systems

To solve the global energy crisis, renewable energies need to play a crucial role in people's daily lives. Among them, solar energy is one of the most widely used since it is abundant on Earth, and pollution free with respect to the environment. Increasing attentions have been paid to study the effective usage of solar energy. Photovoltaic (PV) cells are popularly considered a feasible device for solar energy conversion. However, the temperature on the surface of a working solar cells can be high, which significantly decreases the power conversion efficiency and seriously reduces the cell life. Therefore, developing novel technologies to solve thermal issues for photovoltaic power systems is necessary. In recent years, a combination of photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) as a hybrid PV-TE system is developed as a promising technology to address PV energy efficiency issues, whose application prospects including automotive powertrain manufacturing, human healthcare monitoring, and terrestrial and space detecting. Many PV-TE systems are studied with a focus on improving the conversion efficiency using different methods. This review surveys the concepts of photovoltaics and thermoelectrics, the recent research progress in photovoltaic cells and thermoelectric hybrid systems, and the optimization strategies for improving the conversion efficiency in the hybrid PV-TE systems. Additionally, prospects for the future research of hybrid systems are discussed.