Electroluminescence and infrared imaging of fielded photovoltaic modules: A complementary analysis of series resistance-related defects

Fielded photovoltaic (PV) modules often exhibit series resistance-related defects, mainly due to solder bond degradation and metallization corrosion. To quantitatively analyze the series resistance increase in fielded modules, we conducted a detailed investigation on two sets of modules, employing two complementary techniques, electroluminescence (EL) and infrared (IR) imaging. The dependence of EL image characteristics on module temperature, as revealed in IR images, was a key focus of this study. The first and second sets of modules were exposed in Florida (hot and humid climate) and Arizona (hot and dry climate) over 10 years and 18 years, respectively. The resistive defect patterns obtained using EL and IR images showed a closer correlation for the Florida modules compared to the Arizona modules as the Florida modules primarily experience solder bond degradation. EL and IR images were acquired at five current injection levels (i.e., 0.1, 0.3, 0.5, 0.7, 1.0 x short circuit current) and two exposure times (i.e., 60 s and 300 s) and used to develop and report a new curve fitting method for estimating the external series resistance. The results indicate that inaccurate temperature determinations from IR images can lead to underestimations (up to 23 %) in EL-based external series resistance estimates. For the most accurate series resistance estimation, especially in modules with severe thermal defects and series resistance deterioration, the study recommends obtaining EL and IR images within 60 s of the current injection time. This study also reports a Monte Carlo simulation assessing the impact of EL and IR characteristics on the accuracy of external series resistance estimations.