Influence of Module Architecture and Humidity on Local Module Degradation

Rishi E. Kumar, Guillaume Von Gastrow, Nicholas Theut, April M. Jeffries, Tala Sidawi, Angel Ha, Flavia Deplachett, Hugo Moctezuma-Andraca, Seth Donaldson, Mariana I. Bertoni, David P. Fenning

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

Abstract

Moisture ingress is an established issue for photovoltaic module durability. Durability studies probing moisture effects typically evaluate performance losses at the module level, attributing global power losses to the overall humidity condition of the test environment while leaving local module behavior unknown. We leverage our recently published optical moisture quantification method (water reflectometry detection, WaRD) and biased photoluminescence imaging to spatially correlate module moisture content and cell performance over the course of accelerated damp heat tests. These tests, carried out on glass-glass and glass-backsheet module packages at various temperatures and humidities, reveal two dominant modes of local cell performance loss - acute finger interruptions and global series resistance (Rs) increase. We show that acute failures are more prevalent in glass-glass packages and not influenced by local module moisture dose, and that background Rs increase is greatest in glass-backsheet packages at higher humidity conditions.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publication2021 IEEE 48th Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2021
PublisherInstitute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Inc.
Pages1576-1578
Number of pages3
ISBN (Electronic)9781665419222
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 20 2021
Event48th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2021 - Fort Lauderdale, United States
Duration: Jun 20 2021Jun 25 2021

Publication series

NameConference Record of the IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference
ISSN (Print)0160-8371

Conference

Conference48th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference, PVSC 2021
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityFort Lauderdale
Period6/20/216/25/21

Keywords

  • Degradation
  • Durability
  • Moisture
  • Silicon

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Control and Systems Engineering
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
  • Electrical and Electronic Engineering

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