Hybrid Perovskite‐Photovoltaic and Solar‐Thermal Harvesting

Single‐junction photovoltaics have inherent limitations as low‐energy photons below bandgap cannot generate electrical power, wasting solar energy. Here, a hybrid solar energy harvesting concept is presented. The prototype's core component consists of a semi‐transparent perovskite solar module that converts high‐energy solar photons into electrical power at 14.3% efficiency, while directing ≈55% of the low‐energy photons below bandgap to a solar‐thermal collector. The prototype can achieve an overall exergy efficiency of ≈30.0%, with exergy referring to the usefulness of transformed solar energy and its potential to do work. This high efficiency comes from 1) photovoltaic conversion, 2) low‐temperature heat generation (60 °C) from photovoltaic thermalization losses, and 3) high‐temperature heat generation (900 °C) from the low‐energy photons in a modeled large‐scale high‐concentration‐ratio solar concentrator. The exergy efficiency can advance to >40% if using a record‐efficiency perovskite photovoltaic. Overall, this study provides a high‐efficiency solution for harvesting the full solar spectrum.