TY - GEN
T1 - Environmental aging in polycrystalline-Si photovoltaic modules
T2 - 8th Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components and Systems Conference
AU - Lai, T.
AU - Biggie, R.
AU - Brooks, A.
AU - Potter, B. G.
AU - Simmons-Potter, K.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 COPYRIGHT SPIE. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - Lifecycle degradation testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules in accelerated-degradation chambers can enable the prediction both of PV performance lifetimes and of return-on-investment for installations of PV systems. With degradation results strongly dependent on chamber test parameters, the validity of such studies relative to fielded, installed PV systems must be determined. In the present work, accelerated aging of a 250 W polycrystalline silicon module is compared to real-time performance degradation in a similar polycrystalline-silicon, fielded, PV technology that has been operating since October 2013. Investigation of environmental aging effects are performed in a full-scale, industrial-standard environmental chamber equipped with single-sun irradiance capability providing illumination uniformity of 98% over a 2 x 1.6 m area. Time-dependent, photovoltaic performance (J-V) is evaluated over a recurring, compressed night-day cycle providing representative local daily solar insolation for the southwestern United States, followed by dark (night) cycling. This cycle is synchronized with thermal and humidity environmental variations that are designed to mimic, as closely as possible, test-yard conditions specific to a 12 month weather profile for a fielded system in Tucson, AZ. Results confirm the impact of environmental conditions on the module long-term performance. While the effects of temperature de-rating can be clearly seen in the data, removal of these effects enables the clear interpretation of module efficiency degradation with time and environmental exposure. With the temperature-dependent effect removed, the normalized efficiency is computed and compared to performance results from another panel of similar technology that has previously experienced identical climate changes in the test yard. Analysis of relative PV module efficiency degradation for the chamber-tested system shows good comparison to the field-tested system with ∼2.5% degradation following an equivalent year of testing.
AB - Lifecycle degradation testing of photovoltaic (PV) modules in accelerated-degradation chambers can enable the prediction both of PV performance lifetimes and of return-on-investment for installations of PV systems. With degradation results strongly dependent on chamber test parameters, the validity of such studies relative to fielded, installed PV systems must be determined. In the present work, accelerated aging of a 250 W polycrystalline silicon module is compared to real-time performance degradation in a similar polycrystalline-silicon, fielded, PV technology that has been operating since October 2013. Investigation of environmental aging effects are performed in a full-scale, industrial-standard environmental chamber equipped with single-sun irradiance capability providing illumination uniformity of 98% over a 2 x 1.6 m area. Time-dependent, photovoltaic performance (J-V) is evaluated over a recurring, compressed night-day cycle providing representative local daily solar insolation for the southwestern United States, followed by dark (night) cycling. This cycle is synchronized with thermal and humidity environmental variations that are designed to mimic, as closely as possible, test-yard conditions specific to a 12 month weather profile for a fielded system in Tucson, AZ. Results confirm the impact of environmental conditions on the module long-term performance. While the effects of temperature de-rating can be clearly seen in the data, removal of these effects enables the clear interpretation of module efficiency degradation with time and environmental exposure. With the temperature-dependent effect removed, the normalized efficiency is computed and compared to performance results from another panel of similar technology that has previously experienced identical climate changes in the test yard. Analysis of relative PV module efficiency degradation for the chamber-tested system shows good comparison to the field-tested system with ∼2.5% degradation following an equivalent year of testing.
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U2 - 10.1117/12.2188696
DO - 10.1117/12.2188696
M3 - Conference contribution
AN - SCOPUS:84951046054
T3 - Proceedings of SPIE - The International Society for Optical Engineering
BT - Reliability of Photovoltaic Cells, Modules, Components, and Systems VIII
A2 - Dhere, Neelkanth G.
A2 - Jones-Albertus, Rebecca
A2 - Wohlgemuth, John H.
PB - SPIE
Y2 - 9 August 2015 through 10 August 2015
ER -