Skip to main content
U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Capabilities of the High Voltage Stress Test System at the Outdoor Test Facility

Conference ·
OSTI ID:882606
We illustrate the capabilities of the High Voltage Stress Test (HVST) which operates continuously in the array field east of the Outdoor Test Facility at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Because we know that photovoltaic (PV) modules generating electrical power in both residential and utility-scale array installations will develop high-voltage biases approaching 600 VDC and 1,000 VDC, respectively, we expect such high voltages will result in current leakage between cells and ground, typically through the frames or mounts. We know that inevitably such leakage currents are capable of producing electrochemical corrosion that adversely impacts long-term module performance. With the HVST, we stress or operate PV modules under high-voltage bias, to characterize their leakage currents under all prevailing ambient conditions and assess performance changes emanating from high-voltage stress. We perform this test both on single modules and an active array.
Research Organization:
National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), Golden, CO.
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE
DOE Contract Number:
AC36-99GO10337
OSTI ID:
882606
Report Number(s):
NREL/CP-520-38955
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English