Issue |
EPJ Photovolt.
Volume 15, 2024
Special Issue on ‘EU PVSEC 2023: State of the Art and Developments in Photovoltaics’, edited by Robert Kenny and João Serra
|
|
---|---|---|
Article Number | 7 | |
Number of page(s) | 17 | |
DOI | https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2024001 | |
Published online | 28 February 2024 |
https://doi.org/10.1051/epjpv/2024001
Original Article
The effect of partial shading on the reliability of photovoltaic modules in the built-environment
1
University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland (SUPSI-PVLab), Via Flora Ruchat-Roncati 15, 6850 Mendrisio, Switzerland
2
École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL), Institute of Electrical and Micro Engineering (IEM), Photovoltaics and Thin-Film Electronics Laboratory, Rue de la Maladière 71b, 2002 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
3
Swiss Centre for Electronics and Microtechnology (CSEM), Sustainable Energy Center, Rue de Jaquet-Droz 1, 2002 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
* e-mail: ebrar.ozkalay@supsi.ch
Received:
3
October
2023
Accepted:
8
January
2024
Published online: 28 February 2024
Residential photovoltaic systems often experience partial shading from chimneys, trees or other structures, which can induce hot-spots in the modules. If the temperature and frequency of these hot-spots are high, the module's reliability and safety may be at risk. IEC 61215-2:2021 hot-spot endurance test is utilized to evaluate the materials' ability to withstand partial shading. Since modules in residential systems can be subjected to higher temperatures than those in the open field, IEC TS 63126:2020 recommends adjusting the module temperature for the hot-spot endurance test according to the module's operating temperature. This study tested the hot-spot endurance of PERC, IBC and HJT modules under standard (55 °C) and more severe (75 °C, Level 2 condition in IEC TS 63126:2020) test conditions, as well as outdoor accelerated-ageing tests were performed with shadow masks. The results demonstrated that irrespective of environmental conditions, hot-spots can form at lower temperatures, with more shading-tolerant cells (i.e., cells with lower breakdown voltage) or with shorter strings. We also show that it is possible to shorten the effort- and time-consuming hot-spot endurance test described in the standard and obtain similar results. In addition, the hot-spot endurance test for residential PV systems was evaluated in terms of module temperatures and duration. In this respect, we propose to increase the testing temperatures of the hot-spot endurance testing for modules operating at high temperatures in IEC TS 63126:2020.
Key words: Shadow / partial shading / hot-spot endurance test / residential PV / BIPV / reliability
© E. Özkalay et al., Published by EDP Sciences, 2024
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Current usage metrics show cumulative count of Article Views (full-text article views including HTML views, PDF and ePub downloads, according to the available data) and Abstracts Views on Vision4Press platform.
Data correspond to usage on the plateform after 2015. The current usage metrics is available 48-96 hours after online publication and is updated daily on week days.
Initial download of the metrics may take a while.