Evaluation of moisture ingress from the perimeter of photovoltaic modules: Evaluation of moisture ingress

Kempe, Michael D.; Dameron, Arrelaine A.; Reese, Matthew O.

doi:10.1002/pip.2374

Evaluation of moisture ingress from the perimeter of photovoltaic modules: Evaluation of moisture ingress

Journal Article · Tue May 14 04:00:00 EDT 2013 · Progress in Photovoltaics

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1002/pip.2374· OSTI ID:1405904

Kempe, Michael D. ^[1]; Dameron, Arrelaine A. ^[1]; Reese, Matthew O. ^[1]

National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden CO 80401 USA

Many thin film photovoltaic (PV) technologies can be sensitive to corrosion induced by the presence of water vapor in the packaging materials. Typically impermeable front and backsheets are used in conjunction with an edge-seal around the perimeter to prevent water vapor ingress. These edge-seal materials are often made of a polyisobutylene resin filled with desiccant, which dramatically increases the time for moisture to reach sensitive module components. While edge-seals can prevent moisture ingress, even the lowest diffusivity transparent encapsulant materials are insufficient for the lifetime of a module. To evaluate the performance of edge-seal and encapsulant materials in a manner that simulates their function in a PV module, an optical method was devised where ingress is detected by reaction of a Ca film with water. Using this method, we have exposed test samples to heat and humidity allowing quantitative comparison of different edge-seal and encapsulant materials. Next, we use measurements of polymer diffusivity and solubility to evaluate the ability to model this moisture ingress. Here, we find good agreement between these two methods highlighting the much greater ability of polyisobutylene materials to keep moisture out as compared with typical encapsulant materials used in the PV industry.

Research Organization:: National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office

DOE Contract Number:: AC36-08GO28308

OSTI ID:: 1405904

Report Number(s):: NREL/JA-5J00-57218

Journal Information:: Progress in Photovoltaics, Journal Name: Progress in Photovoltaics Journal Issue: 11 Vol. 22; ISSN 1062-7995

Publisher:: Wiley

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

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14 SOLAR ENERGY
36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
desiccant
edge-seal
encapsulant
humidity
moisture
photovoltaic
polyisobutylene

Evaluation of moisture ingress from the perimeter of photovoltaic modules: Evaluation of moisture ingress

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References (13)

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