Control of Moisture Ingress into Photovoltaic Modules
During long-term exposure of photovoltaic modules to environmental stress, the ingress of water into the module is correlated with decreased performance. By using diffusivity measurements for water through encapsulants such as ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA), we have modeled moisture ingress using a finite-element analysis with atmospheric data from various locations such as Miami, Florida. This analysis shows that because of the high diffusivity of EVA, even an impermeable glass back-sheet alone is incapable of preventing significant moisture ingress from the edges for a 20-year lifecycle. This result has led us to investigate ways to protect modules from moisture through the use of different encapsulating chemistries and materials.
- Research Organization:
- National Renewable Energy Lab. (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)
- Sponsoring Organization:
- US Department of Energy (US)
- DOE Contract Number:
- AC36-99-GO10337
- OSTI ID:
- 15016457
- Report Number(s):
- NREL/CP-520-37390; TRN: US200513%%454
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: Prepared for the 31st IEEE Photovoltaics Specialists Conference and Exhibition, Lake Buena Vista, FL (US), 01/03/2005--01/07/2005; Other Information: PBD: 1 Feb 2005
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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