Performance Evaluation of Unconcentrated Photovoltaic-Thermoelectric Generator Hybrid System under Tropical Climate

Nursyahirah Mohd Shatar, Mohd Azizi Abdul Rahman, Mohd Nabil Muhtazaruddin, Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Shaikh Salim, Baljit Singh, Firdaus Muhammad-Sukki, Nurul Aini Bani, Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi and Jorge Alfredo Ardila-Rey
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Nursyahirah Mohd Shatar: Advanced Vehicle System Research Group, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Mohd Azizi Abdul Rahman: Advanced Vehicle System Research Group, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Mohd Nabil Muhtazaruddin: Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Sheikh Ahmad Zaki Shaikh Salim: Wind Engineering for (Urban, Artificial, Man-made) Environment Laboratory, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Baljit Singh: Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Shah Alam 40450, Selangor, Malaysia
Firdaus Muhammad-Sukki: School of Engineering, Robert Gordon University, Garthdee Road, Aberdeen, Scotland AB10 7GJ, UK
Nurul Aini Bani: Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Jalan Sultan Yahya Petra, Kuala Lumpur 54100, Malaysia
Ahmad Shakir Mohd Saudi: Environmental Health Research Cluster, Environmental Healthcare Section, Institute of Medical Science Technology, Universiti Kuala Lumpur, Kajang 43000, Selangor, Malaysia
Jorge Alfredo Ardila-Rey: Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Santiago de Chile 8940000, Chile

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 22, 1-21

Abstract: Indoor farming is among the approaches which can be adapted to improve agricultural sustainability and ensure the food security of countries. However, adopting indoor farming requires a high amount of energy to sustain the system. Incorporating a renewable energy system for supplying power to agricultural activities will allow the system to be more sustainable in the long run. An unconcentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (PV-TEG) hybrid system is designed based on the load requirement of an indoor farm. The hybrid system performance under Malaysia’s weather conditions was investigated and analyzed over three months. The designed system has shown its ability to provide sufficient power to the load, as well as supporting an additional load. Besides that, the TEGs power output was found to be dependent on the temperature as well as the types of connections used, where a higher temperature difference and series connection exhibited a better power output. Overall, the combination of the system showed that the addition of a TEG affects the efficiency and power output as compared to a standalone PV. Therefore, this implies that the hybrid system is able to exhibit a more positive outcome in certain weather conditions than a PV standalone system.

Keywords: photovoltaic; thermoelectric generator; PV-TEG; sustainable agriculture; indoor farming (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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