US 2011/0209744 A1Published application

Combined Solar/Thermal (CHP) Heat and Power for Residential and Industrial Buildings

AssigneeEaton Corporation

InventorHaoran Hu

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Abstract

A solar powered generator (100) has thermoelectric elements adjacent to and below solar cells. Concentrated sunlight is provided. A heat sink (104), which can be variable in temperature or efficiency, is in contact with the cold junction (108) of the thermoelectric device (103). The thermal resistivity is designed in relation to the energy flux, whereby the thermoelectric device (103) develops a gradient of several hundred Kelvin. Preferably the solar cell comprises a high band gap energy semi-conductor. The generator (100) maintains relatively consistent efficiency over a range of cold junction (108) temperatures. The heat sink (104) can be a hot water system. High efficiencies are achieved using nanocomposite thermoelectric materials. Evenly but thinly dispersing the thermoelectric segments in a matrix of highly insulating material reduces the amount of material required for the segments without sacrificing performance. A unitary construction of the solar cell and thermoelectric elements provides further advantages.

Claims17

Dependent claims

A solar powered generator (100) (100), comprising:

a solar panel (102) having a top side (105) and a bottom side (106) and being functional to generate electric power from sunlight (109);
a thermoelectric device (103) adjacent to and below the solar panel (102), the device (103) comprising a hot junction (107), a cold junction (108), the hot junction (107) in close thermal coupling with the bottom side (106) of the solar panel (102), the thermoelectric device (103) being functional to generate electric power when the hot junction (107) is hotter than the cold junction (108);
and
one or more electrical connections for electrically coupling to and drawing electrical power from the solar panel (102) and for electrically coupling to and drawing electrical power from the thermoelectric device (103);
wherein the thermoelectric device (103) comprises n-type legs (219) configured to conduct heat from the hot junction (107) to the cold junction (108) and p-type legs (220) configured to conduct heat from the hot junction (107) to the cold junction (108);
the n-type legs (219) comprise one or more segments of n-doped semi-conductor materials;
the p-type legs (220) comprise one or more segments of p-doped semi-conductor materials;
and
at least one of the segments is formed of a nano-composite material in which quantum confinement of carriers substantially reduces the segment's thermal conductivity.

6 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Facts

Application: 13/127,415Filed 4 Nov 2009
Published: 1 Sep 2011
Term ends: Not estimatedThe source records don’t support an estimate.

Classification13 codes

H10N 10/13
Operating with only the Peltier or Seebeck effects: characterised by the heat-exchanging means at the junction
H02S 10/10
PV power plants; Combinations of PV energy systems with other systems for the generation of electric power: including a supplementary source of…
H10N 10/857
Thermoelectric active materials: comprising compositions changing continuously or discontinuously inside the material
H10F 77/42
Optical elements or arrangements: directly associated or integrated with photovoltaic cells, e.g. light-reflecting means or light-concentrating means