by jbs101609d3 — October 21, 2009—A subcommittee of ASTM International is working on a proposed standard relating to the performance of photovoltaic (PV) modules that will cover the long-term issues of durability and functional service life. ASTM says previous standards focused simply on initial qualification testing. Subcommittee E44.09 on Photovoltaic Electric Power Conversion is under the jurisdiction of Committee E44 on Solar, Geothermal, and Other Alternative Energy Sources.
The intent of the proposed standard, ASTM WK25362 – New Practice for Photovoltaic Module Reliability Assessment, is to recommend procedures for conducting accelerated life testing of photovoltaic modules to provide a common ground for manufacturers and users to assess durability and estimate functional service life, says ASTM. The results of the test protocols will help designers and manufacturers identify and quantify the important failure mechanisms that can limit the service life of PV modules, as well as provide methods to evaluate the rate of performance degradation.
ASTM says ASTM WK25362 could potentially be used to corroborate claims of warrantable lifetime. In addition, the standard will educate users—including distributors, installers, and owners—on PV property-performance-cost relationships such as electrical output versus environmental variables, corrective and preventative maintenance, and design factors that influence operational reliability.
Among the potential users of the new standard are PV module and component designers and manufacturers, testing and certification laboratories, government laboratories, commercial PV users, and solar energy consumer advocate groups. All interested parties are invited to take part in the development of ASTM WK25362 and in other standardization activities of Committee E44. For technical information, contact David Burns, 3M Weathering Resource Center, 3M Co., Maplewood, MN.
