Haruko Miyauchi

Novel lighter weight crystalline silicon photovoltaic module using acrylic-film as a cover sheet

Lighter weight multicrystalline silicon photovoltaic (PV) modules were investigated by substitution of acrylic thin film for standard glass as a cover sheet. Acrylic-film PV mini modules were fabricated with the composition determined from stress simulation results and tested for long-term reliability against thermal changes and humidity. The results revealed that the acrylic-film-cover-sheet PV module satisfied the qualifying standards of all the reliability tests in both the module appearance after tests and the electrical properties. Moreover, the PV module proved to be durable in the impact resistance test, even though the cover sheet was thinner. In addition, the electrical properties of the PV module were unaffected in the potential-induced degradation (PID) test, whereas those of the standard glass module were significantly deteriorated. These results indicated that it is possible for the lighter weight acrylic-film PV module to be used in the immediate future.