EFFECTIVE UTILIZATION OF PARABOLIC DISH SOLAR COLLECTORS FOR THE HEATING AND THERMO-ELECTRIC POWER GENERATION

The power generation from the heat into electricity are mainly Stirling engines and thermoelectric generator modules. Thermoelectric power generation using parabolic dish solar collectors are mainly operated as the stand-alone systems with the dish aperture area varies from the few square meters to several thousand square meters. The major parameters affecting the electrical output of the thermoelectric system are the receiver surface temperature, the sink temperature, tracking accuracy of the dish collector, solar beam radiation, wind speed and ambient temperature at the site. Stirling engine technology provides higher energy conversion whereas the thermoelectric generator (TEG) generates electricity around 5%. The selection of materials for the hot and cold junction and the nanofluids for enhanced cooling of such modules will pave the way to the improved energy conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric modules. The thermoelectric power generators driven by the parabolic dish is one of the better option for the remote applications. The thermal storage based solar receivers are one of the effective utilization of concentrated solar thermal energy for domestic and industrial applications.