Designing 24-hour Electrical Power Generator: Thermoradiative Device for Harvesting Energy from Sun and Outer Space

TL;DR

This paper introduces a thermoradiative device that enables 24-hour energy harvesting by combining solar and outer space thermal emission, with a detailed thermodynamic model predicting high efficiency and power density.

Contribution

The study proposes a novel TRD-based generator capable of continuous 24-hour energy harvesting, with optimized design and performance analysis.

Findings

Peak efficiency of 12.6% during daytime

Maximum power density of 10.8 W/m² at nighttime

Outperforms existing thermoelectric generators

Abstract

Energy harvesting from sun and outer space using thermoradiative devices (TRD), despite being promising renewable energy sources, are limited only to daytime and nighttime period, respectively. A system with 24-hour continuous energy generation remains an open question thus far. Here, we propose a TRD-based power generator that harvests solar energy via concentrated solar irradiation during daytime and via thermal infrared emission towards the outer space at nighttime, thus achieving the much sought-after 24-hour electrical power generation. We develop a rigorous thermodynamical model to investigate the performance characteristics, parametric optimum design, and the role of various energy loss mechanisms. Our model predicts that the TRD-based system yields a peak efficiency of 12.6\% at daytime and a maximum power density of 10.8 Wm$^{-2}$ at nighttime, thus significantly outperforming the state-of-art record-setting thermoelectric generator. These findings reveal the potential of TRD towards 24-hour electricity generation and future renewable energy technology.