Power Electronic Concept for Thermoelectric Energy Generation

In the former paper [10] basic measurements on TEG modules were carried out. The output characteristic of a TEG module has a power maximum, which increases quadratically with the temperature difference and linearly with the module area. At a temperature difference of 33 K, an output of 220 W/m<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> can be generated. That's about as much as a solar module in full sunlight. For higher output power, a series or parallel connection of many TEG modules is necessary. If some modules only operate with reduced temperature difference the series connection can be more effective than parallel connection. If the temperature difference is too small, then it is better to switch off the weak modules. This paper examines the further use of the energy generated by the thermoelectric generator for storage into batteries, feeding into the power grid or supply stand alone AC consumers, similar to electricity generated with photovoltaic. Therefore components from photovoltaic systems (battery charge controllers, grid-connected inverters, island inverters, MPP tracking) can be used. Such power electronic components were examined experimentally. They are well suited for thermoelectric generators. Only with 12 TEG modules with a module area of 0.0192 m<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup> a power of 16 W can be stored into battery or fed into the power grid. Thermoelectric energy generation has a significant potential for the energy transition. The scope of this paper is the integration of thermoelectric generators into energy transition strategies by means of power electronic components.