A hybrid solar energy generation system using photovoltaic and thermoelectrics

With an increasing demand on energy conservation, there is a fast growing interest in the area of renewable energy so as to reduce the amounts of fossil fuels burned and to reduce global warming. Renewable energy makes it more environmentally friendly and also reduces the cost of electricity. Due to the limited resources and land available, one of the most promising forms of renewable energy is solar energy, given that Singapore is situated near the equatorial sun-belt that has approximately 12 hours of sunlight in a day. The student will investigate the amount of solar energy that could be generated by the photovoltaic cells. Depending on the composite materials used in manufactured photovoltaic cells, it would result in a difference to the cells’ efficiency and cost. The student will be using a super-capacitor bank for the experiment to obtain the amount of energy harvested from the sunlight to the PV cells. The student will also investigate on the thermoelectric device which could convert heat into electricity. Thermoelectric device can operate in two different modes: as a thermoelectric generator (TEG) or a cooler (TEC). In the experiment, the student will only focus on the power generation and the amount of energy stored in the capacitor. The efficiency of the device is relatively low compared to the photovoltaic cells. Thus, photovoltaic cells are often used as they have a higher efficiency as compared to thermoelectric devices.Bachelor of Engineerin