Comprehensive analysis of radiative cooling enabled thermoelectric energy harvesting

Abstract

The market for Internet-of-things (IoT) with integrated wireless sensor networks is expanding at a rate never seen before. The thriving of IoT also brings an unprecedented demand for sustainable micro-Watt-scale power supplies. Radiative cooling (RC) can provide a continuous temperature difference which can be converted by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) into electrical power. This novel combination of RC with TEG expands the category of sustainable energy sources for energy harvesting. However, the further application of RC-TEG requires a holistic investigation of its RC-TEG performance which is dependent on many different parameters. Using 3D finite element method simulation, this works provides a comprehensive analysis of the concept of RC-TEG by investigating the impact of radiative cooler properties, TEG parameters, and environmental conditions, to provide a full picture of the performance of RC-TEG devices. The capability of RC-TEG to provide continuous power supply is tested using real-time environmental data from both Singapore and London on two different days of the year, demonstrating continuous power supply sufficient for a wide range of physical devices.

Keywords

• radiative cooling
• thermoelectric generator
• COMSOL
• IoT