Performance Evaluation of the Integration Between a Thermo–Photo–Voltaic Generator and an Organic Rankine Cycle

The present study deals with the integration between a thermo-photo-voltaic generator (TPV) and an organic Rankine cycle (ORC), named here TORCIS (thermo-photo-voltaic organic Rankine cycle integrated system). The investigated TORCIS system is suitable for combined heat and power (CHP) applications, such as residential and tertiary sector users. The aim of the research project on this innovative system is the complete definition of the components’ design and the preprototyping characterization of the system, covering all the unresolved issues. This paper shows the results of a preliminary thermodynamic analysis of the system. In more details, TPV is a system to convert, into electric energy, the radiation emitted from an artificial heat source (i.e., combustion of fuel) by the use of photovoltaic cells; in this system, the produced electric power is strictly connected to the thermal one, as their ratio is almost constant and cannot be changed without severe loss in performance. The coupling between TPV and ORC allows us to overcome this limitation and to realize a cogenerative system, which can be regulated with a large degree of freedom, changing the electric-to-thermal power ratio. The paper presents and discusses the TORCIS achievable performance, highlighting its potential in the field of distributed generation and cogenerative systems.