  The decrease of solar cell efficiency with temperature is a known problem for
photovoltaics (PV). Temperature sensitivity can lead to a considerable amount
of energy losses over the lifetime of solar panels. In this perspective Hybrid
Thermoelectric-Photovoltaic (HTEPV) systems, which recover solar cell heat
losses to produce an additional power output, can be a suitable option. However
only hybridization of wide-gap solar cells is convenient in terms of efficiency
gains and deserves investigation to evaluate HTEPV devices effectiveness. In
this work we report the modeling and the development of customized bismuth
telluride thermoelectric generators, optimized to be hybridized with amorphous
silicon (aSi), Gallium Indium Phosphide (GaInP) or Perovskites solar cells. The
model results showed in all three cases efficiency gains with a maximum of
+3.1% for Perovskites (from 16.4% to 19.5%). These enhancements were then
experimentally validated for the case of Perovskites solar cells, for which
maximum gains were found to occur at typical operating temperatures of
conventional PVs. This experimental evaluation demonstrated in an accurate
fashion the real potential of thermoelectric hybridization of solar cells.
