Investigation of nanofluid cooling influence on energy performance of photovoltaic-thermoelectric module

The finned heat sink was equipped with a confined jet to create an effective way for cooling of photovoltaic (PV) system in current work. In the bottom of PV layers, a thermoelectric generator (TEG) has been utilized to produce more electrical power. To create a temperature difference, the heat sink has been located in the bottom of TEG. The fluid is mixture of water with hybrid nanomaterial (TiO2-CuO). For simulating, finite volume approach has been chosen and code has been verified based on previous publication. Influences of inlet velocity (Vin), radiation intensity ("I") and inlet temperature (Tin) on electrical (eta PV) and thermal (eta th) efficiencies have been scrutinized. With increase in "I", the values of eta PV and eta th reduces about 5.94% and 14.3% while the amount of eta TEG for "I" = 4200 W m-2 is 3.47 times greater than that of "I" = 1200 W m-2. Greater value of Tin leads to lower values of eta TEG, eta PV and eta th around 28.2%, 2.5% and 13.72%. The amount of eta th and eta TEG intensifies about 1.13% and 2.76% with rise of Vin, respectively. Also, the increment effect of Vin on eta PV reduces around 24.8% in the existence of fins.