Experimental investigation on thermoelectric generator system for performance enhancement

Experimental Investigation on thermoelectric generator system consisting couple of Thermoelectric Generator modules using two different energy sources, one is solar water heater and the other is gas cartridge heating torch is carried out. Solar energy is used to heat the water through solar water heater to supply heat at the hot side of Thermo Electric Generator (TEG) creating the temperature difference for power generation. This concept is suitable for hot atmosphere like summer season in India, solar radiation is high. The main objective of investigation is to study the performance of TEG for power generation using different energy source i.e. the low temperature source which is considered as the solar water heater and high temperature source as gas cartridge heating torch. The maximum temperature of the hot side of TEG modules that is attained from solar water heater and gas cartridge heating torch are 900 C and 3000 C respectively. It is observed that hot side temperature through solar water heater is limited to 1200 C. Therefore, operating temperature range for two energy sources is different. In order to check suitability of TEG module for power generation at low and high temperatures two TEG modules are utilized. TEG Module 1268- 4.3 and TEG Module 4199-5.3 are connected in series as well as parallel both combinations are investigated. Conversion efficiency of TEG is obtained maximum at higher temperature difference i.e. during gas cartridge heating torch.