<![CDATA[Elevated operating temperature can reduce the electrical performance and efficiency of photovoltaic (PV) modules, particularly under tropical outdoor conditions. This study experimentally compared thermoelectric cooling (TEC) and water-spray cooling for improving the thermal and electrical performance of polycrystalline PV modules under the same outdoor conditions in South Badung, Bali, Indonesia. Identical 160 Wp PV modules were tested under three conditions: without cooling, with TEC cooling, and with water-spray cooling. Surface temperature, electrical output, efficiency, cooling effectiveness, and net energy gain were evaluated during a 120-minute experiment with measurements recorded at 5-minute intervals. The results showed that the uncooled PV module reached surface temperatures of approximately 45–55°C. TEC reduced the surface temperature by approximately 5–7°C, whereas water-spray cooling reduced it by approximately 15–20°C, resulting in temperatures of 30–37°C. The water-spray system achieved an average output power of 112.37 ± 17.29 W and efficiency of 23.39 ± 3.49%, compared with 98.07 ± 11.96 W and 20.42 ± 2.37%, respectively, for TEC cooling. The net energy gain was approximately −2.39 W for TEC and 19.09 W for water-spray cooling under intermittent operation. These results indicate that water-spray cooling provided better thermal management and net energy performance than TEC under the investigated tropical conditions.]]>
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