A New Method for Assessing the Performance of Photovoltaic Module Enhancing Techniques Based on the Lifespan and Power Effectiveness Factor

Photovoltaic (PV) module enhancers—such as coolers or reflectors—are developed to improve the electrical output and thermal management of PV systems. A previous method evaluated enhancer effectiveness based solely on the lifespan of both the PV module and the enhancer. However, this approach did not account for the net power contribution of the enhancer, limiting its applicability in performance comparisons. To address this gap, a new metric is introduced, the lifespan and power effectiveness factor (${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{L}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{E}}$), which incorporates both power and durability dimensions. The proposed method requires five parameters: the lifespan of the PV module (${\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}}_{\mathrm{L}\mathrm{S}}$) and the enhancer (${\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{C}}_{\mathrm{L}\mathrm{S}}$), the net power from the enhancer (${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}\mathrm{C}}$), the baseline PV power without enhancement (${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}}$), and the maximum PV power under standard test conditions (${\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V},\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}}$). Experimental data from prior studies were used to validate the method. The results show that the ${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{L}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{E}}$ values for different enhancers ranged from 0.22 (22%) to 0.37 (37%). Maximum or minimum performance occurs when the ${\mathrm{F}}_{\mathrm{L}\mathrm{S}\mathrm{P}\mathrm{E}}$ value is either unity or equivalent to the ratio of the PV’s power output (PV without an enhancer) to its maximum power under standard test conditions (${\displaystyle \frac{{\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V}}}{{\mathrm{P}}_{\mathrm{P}\mathrm{V},\mathrm{m}\mathrm{a}\mathrm{x}}}}$), respectively. The proposed method not only offers improved clarity in evaluating PV enhancer technologies but also provides a robust framework for selecting durable and power-efficient PV cooling solutions.