# Practical development of efficient thermoelectric-photovoltaic hybrid systems based on wide-gap solar cells

**Authors:** Bruno Lorenzi, Paolo Mariani, Andrea Reale, Aldo Di Carlo, Gang Chen, Dario Narducci  
**arXiv:** [2101.08504](https://arxiv.org/abs/2101.08504)  
**Date:** 2021-01-21  
**Summary page:** https://www.summarizepaper.com/en/paper/2101.08504v1/

## Key points

- Solar cell efficiency decreases with temperature
- Hybrid Thermoelectric-Photovoltaic (HTEPV) systems can recover solar cell heat losses and produce additional power output
- Only wide-gap solar cells are suitable for hybridization in terms of efficiency gains
- A team of researchers developed customized bismuth telluride thermoelectric generators optimized for hybridization with amorphous silicon (aSi), Gallium Indium Phosphide (GaInP), or Perovskites solar cells
- Efficiency gains were achieved in all three cases, with Perovskites exhibiting the highest increase of +3.1%
- These findings were experimentally validated for Perovskites solar cells, demonstrating the real potential of thermoelectric hybridization at typical operating temperatures of conventional PVs
- HTEPV systems can mitigate energy losses due to temperature sensitivity in solar panels
- Customized thermoelectric generators can optimize the performance of HTEPV systems

## Summary

The efficiency of solar cells decreases with temperature, resulting in significant energy losses over the lifetime of photovoltaic (PV) panels. To address this issue, Hybrid Thermoelectric-Photovoltaic (HTEPV) systems have been proposed to recover solar cell heat losses and produce additional power output. However, only wide-gap solar cells are suitable for hybridization in terms of efficiency gains, and their effectiveness needs further investigation. In this study, a team of researchers led by Bruno Lorenzi and Paolo Mariani developed customized bismuth telluride thermoelectric generators optimized for hybridization with amorphous silicon (aSi), Gallium Indium Phosphide (GaInP), or Perovskites solar cells. The model results showed that all three cases achieved efficiency gains, with Perovskites exhibiting the highest increase of +3.1% (from 16.4% to 19.5%). These findings were experimentally validated for Perovskites solar cells, demonstrating the real potential of thermoelectric hybridization at typical operating temperatures of conventional PVs. The study highlights the feasibility of HTEPV systems as an effective solution to mitigate energy losses due to temperature sensitivity in solar panels and provides insights into optimizing their performance through customized thermoelectric generators.