A cost effective and economic method for assessing the performance of photovoltaic module enhancing techniques: Analytical and experimental study. (April 2023)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sultan, Sakhr M.; Tso, C.P.; Ervina, E.M.N.; Abdullah, M.Z.
• Is Part Of: Solar energy. Volume 254(2023)
• Page Start: 27
• Page End: 41
• Publication Date: 2023-04
• Subjects: Solar energy -- Photovoltaic efficiency -- PV power enhancing technique cost effectiveness evaluation -- Reflector -- Cooler; Solar energy -- Periodicals; Solar engines -- Periodicals; 621.47
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2023.03.004
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-092X

Abstract

Highlights: A modified method is proposed for PV enhancer to reduce the economic evaluation cost. The maximum percentage of cost reduction is 23.4 %. An experimental work is conducted to validate the proposed approach. This modified method has the potential to be used by PV enhancer designers and manufacturers. Abstract: In an earlier work, the production cost effectiveness factor, F C E, was introduced for the purpose of assessing the economic aspect of photovoltaic module (PV) enhancing techniques, such as the use of reflectors or coolers. This factor is linking the manufacturing cost of PV enhancer with its ability to improve the PV's output power, and is helpful in making design decisions on different types of PV enhancers. However, that assessment method is costly, because it requires one set of a PV without an enhancer that has the same number of solar cells as a PV with an enhancer. In this paper, a new proposal is made for a modified production cost effectiveness factor (FMCE ) and its minimum value that depends on first knowing the output power from a single solar cell only, without an enhancer, and the output power from a PV containing an enhancer with a known number of solar cells, the cost of manufacturing of PV enhancer and the one-watt cost of PV power. An experimental study is conducted for PV with single and double reflecting mirror, that shows both FCE and FMCE have the same values. Yet using FMCE is able to reduce the assessment cost by 23.4 and 22% for PV with single and double reflecting mirror, respectively, as compared to using the existing method. It can be concluded that the proposed method is cost effective, applicable for real cases, and should have potential to be applied by designers and manufacturers of PV enhancers.