Leading experts from TÜV Rheinland will be on hand at the 28th EU PVSEC conference from September 30 to October 4, 2013, in Paris to present numerous findings from current research and development projects in the field of photovoltaics. There will be presentations on boosting efficiency, reliability and safety in photovoltaics in relation to different components of solar-powered systems as well as ways to optimize individual aspects of testing procedures. The company is presenting, for example, a new solar simulator for concentrated photovoltaic modules that was developed by the specialists at TÜV Rheinland, along with a project for comparing energy yields with a comparative method for performance analysis of different photovoltaic technologies through field tests in different climate zones. In a further series of research experiments, the specialists also investigated different testing methods in order to determine potential induced degradation (PID) in solar cells.
Two presentations specifically look at the module glass in order to assess and minimize glare due to photovoltaic modules and to characterize the glass panels on the front of the modules in terms of the link between the angle of incidence of sunlight onto the solar cells and the cumulative annual yield. In order to investigate the workmanship of modules in more detail, TÜV Rheinland also performs comprehensive tests to examine the laminating quality of backsheets of modules. There are currently no standardized procedures available for this. The test is used as an additional and faster method than the tedious tests in a climate chamber to establish whether or not modules meet the required quality standards. In a test series performed on 25 modules in 2012, TÜV Rheinland investigated the laminating quality in what are known as rip-off tests, which are special tensile tests on the backsheets. The results of these tests will also be presented in Paris.
