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Degradation Analysis of Field Installed Photovoltaic Modules

Presented by
Asokan S
Asst.Prof/ Electrical Dept
PHCET,Rasayani
Outline

 Can PV power plants suffer from a silent cancer?

 Acceptable extent of illnesses.

 Diagnosis activities planned.

 Inferences.

 Business aspects to ponder.

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Can PV power plants suffer from a silent cancer?
Myths(?) and Facts:

 PV systems thought to be 'practically maintenance-free', except for 'cleaning' from time to time.

 PV modules have performance warranty with 80% power after 20-25 years (linear degradation/year).

 PV modules have 10 years product (manufacturer) warranty.

 PV modules and systems are to conform various IEC standards

 IEC 61215, IEC 61730,IEC 61701, IEC 62716 & IEC 62804, and so on.

Insights about PV system is a pre-requisite:

 Do IEC standards take into account the environmental conditions 'across the globe'?

 Do module manufacturers and installers adhere to IEC standards?

 Can IEC standards 'ensure 100%' module and system reliability?

 Can PV modules degrade at a faster rate than the acceptable level?

 Is there degradation in the BoS components upon exposure to outdoor conditions?

 Are there methods to 'determine or fore-cast underperformance' of a PV system?

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Acceptable extent of illnesses

Typical loss values of various components taken from PVsyst.

Loss factor Degradation (%)

Loss due to temperature 14

Array soling loss 2

Module quality loss 2

Module array mismatch loss 2

Ohmic wiring loss 1.1

Inverter loss 2.1

Can the illnesses worsen in future years of the installations?

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Potential risk factors for PV modules

CPN- Cost Priority Number

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A thorough diagnosis seems to be required!

As regular maintenance/checkups alone wont help customers what they have paid for!

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Diagnosis Activities Planned

 Level 1 diagnosis:

 Plant-level diagnosis by IR thermal imaging.

 Checking of JB, CB, ACDB, cable termination & inverter

via IR thermal imaging.

 Level 2 diagnosis:

 String-level I-V measurements to determine relative

performance degradation.

 Selective module-level I-V & EL measurements.

 EL imaging before dispatch, after arrival at site & installation.

 Visual inspection of selective modules which seem to be degraded.

 Earthing resistance and Insulation resistance measurement.

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Proposed Equipments and their capabilities

Estimated Cost
No. Resource Purpose
(INR in lakhs)
Detect hot-spots in PV modules and thermal profiling of various
1 IR Thermal camera 7 - 10
components

X-ray for modules to detect defects like cracks, shunting, high Rs,
2 Day-light EL system 2-3
PID,etc.

3 Portable I-V curve tracer Obtain I-V curve of string and modules

4 Earthing resistance meter Measure earthing resistance

6 Insulation resistance meter Measure insulation resistance 3.5 - 5

7 AC/DC current clamp meter Measure AC/DC current in strings and at inverter level

Total Estimated Costs ~ 20

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Inferences

 PV system require minimum maintenance for sure, but periodic health-check up is a must!

 Various methods can be applied to detect issues at an early stage before they hamper

the system performance drastically.

 IR thermal imaging is a simple & effective way to detect issues in modules under operating-conditions.

 I-V measurements using 'portable tracer' help to detect 'under-performing' strings and modules.

 EL imaging is the X-ray for modules which clearly indicates the defects for warranty claims.

 Given the rise in PV installations in India, PV plant health-monitoring will be a 'running' business opportunity.

 Required investment is not very high.

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IR Thermography – A Comparison
Model Testo 885 Fluke Tix500 FLIR T420
Resolution 320x240
Temperature range :-30ºC to 650ºC
Digital zoom 4x
Handle-type Handy-cam type
Thermal sensitivity < 30 mK < 0.05ºC at 30ºC < 0.04ºC at 30ºC
FoV 30° x 23° 24ºx17º 25ºx19º
In-built camera 3.1 M 5M 3.1 M
Display size 4.3" 5.7" 3.5"
Focus Manual Auto/Manual Auto/Manual
Super Resolution Y- 2x resolution of native image. Y- 2x resolution of native image. ULTRAMAX Technology - 4x better image than native image

Min. Focus distance 0.5 m 0.15 m 0.4 m


Features 3 point movable cursor IR notes, voice annotation 5 spotmeters, 5 box areas

Isotherm function Reflection background compensation & emissivity correction Reflected ambient temperature and emissivity correction

180º rotating lens. 240º articulating lens 120º rotating lens.

Multisharp focus- Focus near & far, Laser Sharp -Auto focus. Thermal/Visual/PiP/Auto hot & cold spots

PiP- 100,75,50,25% 60 s voice tagging, text notes

Instant report generation directly in camera


Approximate price Rs. 6.67 lakhs Rs. 7 lakhs Rs. 9.5 lakhs
Telephoto lens Rs. 1 lakh Rs. 1.5 lakhs
Wide-angle lens Camera has wider FoV Rs. 1 lakh Rs. 1.35 lakhs
Tripod mounting Not required Not required Rs 4,800
Additional battery Rs. 9,178 Provided with product Provided with product

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THANK YOU

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