Tolerance to hygrothermal and high-voltage stresses for Si-related photovoltaic modules with newly-developed polyvinyl butyral encapsulants

Abstract Newly-developed polyvinyl butyral (PVB) encapsulants were employed for Si-related photovoltaic modules. Modules of amorphous Si with a glass–glass structure and those of crystalline Si with glass and a back-sheet structure were subjected to hygrothermal stresses by a damp-heat (DH) test and high-voltage stress by a potential-induced degradation (PID) test, respectively. Even after a quite long DH test at 85 °C and 85% relative humidity for 49 000 h, retention of output power of about 85% was obtained without edge sealant. No decrease in output power was also observed after a PID test with −1000 V at 60 °C and 85% relative humidity for 168 h. These facts suggest that newly-developed PVB is well applicable to encapsulant materials for highly reliable photovoltaic modules.