Study Of New Generation BP Solar Modules And Commercial PV Connectors And Study Of Leakage Current In BP Solar PV Modules In The Hot And Humid Climate Of Florida; Year 1, Quarter 3

A study of leakage currents in PV modules has been shown to beeffective in early detection of design, material or process flaws in PV modules. Corrosion has been found to occur in some a-Si:H PV modules during accelerated testing under damp-heat with high voltage bias conditions. The objective of this project is to carry out accelerated testing of PV modules deployed in hot and humid climate under very high voltage bias conditions so as to understand correlation, if any, between the leakage current and mobile corrosive impurities. Moreover, efforts will be made to elucidate the modes and mechanisms of failures in PV modules with an aim to apply the Physics of Failure methodology for improving the service lifetime of PV modules specially developed for high voltage PV systems. A detailed study on various types of PV connectors is also being carried out in order to understand the effect of hot and humid environment conditions on PV connectors