Publications

PV Lifetime Project: Measuring PV Module PerformanceDegradation: 2018 Indoor Flash TestingResults

Stein, Joshua S.; Robinson, Charles D.; King, Bruce H.; Deline, Chris; Rummel, Steve; Sekulic, Bill

Photovoltaic (PV) module and system performance degradation is being measured by periodic flash testing of fielded PV modules at three sites. As of early 2018, results from modules fielded in New Mexico and Colorado are now available. These data indicate that module degradation varies significantly between module types and can also vary between modules of the same model. In addition, degradation rates for some module types appear to vary over time. Great care is made to control for stability and repeatability in the measurements over time, but there is still a +/-0.5% uncertainty in flash test stability. Therefore, it will take several more years for degradation rate results to be known with higher confidence.