Study on appearance and electrical properties of reused solar modules

Abstract

Abstract A test platform for reused solar modules was established in Wuhan in order to study the appearance changes, aging problems and degradation rate in electrical properties of the reused modules. The photovoltaic modules were mono-Si modules produced by Siemens in 1996. It was found that there was moisture at the edge of the modules. The aging of tin-coated copper strip was obvious, and there was blackening phenomenon. There were many white spots on the solar cells around the tin-coated strip, and the solar cells turned blue locally. The average annual power attenuation rate of different modules varied greatly, but it was mainly related to the increase of series resistance of modules. The integrated average annual power attenuation of PV modules was about 3.59% during 4 years.