Photovoltaic Discoloration and Cracks: Experimental Impact on the I-V Curve Degradation

Optical and mechanical failures are often reported in a PV installation. This paper presents the impact of two of the most prevalent failures: The discoloration and the cell cracks on the electrical parameters of the PV characteristic. The studied installation was exposed to a semi-arid climate for two years. Hence, discoloration and cracks are inspected in some modules. The aim of this paper is to correlate between the types of failure occurred and the affected electrical parameter basically through the I-V curve pattern. For this purpose I-V curve measurements are performed for the degraded modules and compared with reference I-V curves of the same system. Throughout this study, identification methods such electroluminescence imaging and I-V curve characterization are utilized to diagnosis these failures.