IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/rensus/v222y2025ics1364032125006197.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Integrating radiative cooling and thermoelectric: A comprehensive review

Author

Listed:
  • Mousavi, S. Ali Akbar
  • Aghakhani, Hamidreza
  • Baghapour, Behzad
  • Lv, Song

Abstract

Thermoelectric systems generate power from temperature differences or provide cooling by applying an electric current. Radiative cooling passively dissipates heat into space, enabling cooling without energy input, even under sunlight. Combining radiative cooling with thermoelectric systems can then provide sustainable, silent, and efficient energy conversion technology, which is emerging as a promising approach in the area of renewable energy. This paper presents the first comprehensive review of studies integrating thermoelectric systems with radiative cooling technologies, examining various implementations in a sequence that depicts radiative cooling technological evolution: it begins with power generation during nighttime, advances to daytime systems utilizing solar concentration, and progresses to all-day generation setups, followed by photovoltaic-integrated systems, wearable applications, and concludes with configurations focused on cooling applications. Material compositions for radiative cooling/thermoelectric are evaluated, followed by an assessment of thermal management approaches. Performance and structural design complexity analyses of system configurations are conducted, followed by an evaluation of environmental and geometrical parameters. An economic evaluation identifies challenges requiring further research. Based on a comprehensive analysis of existing technologies, the paper then presents an enhanced system design for generation. This review further identifies critical areas requiring investigation, such as more advanced thermoelectric materials, heat loss reduction strategies, novel applications such as desalination, together with the utilization of machine learning and the Internet of Things. By providing a comprehensive literature review, this work offers valuable insights into the current state and future potential of integrating radiative cooling and thermoelectric systems to advance sustainable energy technologies.

Suggested Citation

  • Mousavi, S. Ali Akbar & Aghakhani, Hamidreza & Baghapour, Behzad & Lv, Song, 2025. "Integrating radiative cooling and thermoelectric: A comprehensive review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:222:y:2025:i:c:s1364032125006197
    DOI: 10.1016/j.rser.2025.115946
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1364032125006197
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115946?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    --->

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to

    for a different version of it.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:rensus:v:222:y:2025:i:c:s1364032125006197. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/600126/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.