Valentin Chapuis

TL;DR: In this article, a glass-free lightweight solution (a6 kg/m2) compliant with hail and mechanical load tests as prescribed by the IEC 61215-2:2016 is proposed.

Abstract: In several countries, building‐integrated photovoltaics solutions could prospectively contribute to the growth of total installed photovoltaic (PV) capacity as they enable electricity production with minimal impact on free land. However, in some circumstances, the relatively high weight (≥15 kg/m2) of existing glass/glass building‐integrated photovoltaics modules may constitute a barrier to the diffusion of PV in the built environment. With the aim of limiting the weight while preserving excellent mechanical stability and durability properties, we propose a new design for lightweight crystalline‐silicon (c‐Si) PV modules in which the conventional polymer backsheet (or glass) is replaced by a composite sandwich structure, and the frontsheet by a transparent polymer foil. Since sandwich structures are generally realized using epoxy as a gluing material, requiring long processing times, we further investigate (1) the possibility of using standard polymers used in the solar industry as alternative adhesives in the sandwich and (2) the possibility to considerably simplify manufacturing, using conventional lamination processes. Mini‐modules are produced, characterized, and submitted to accelerated aging tests (thermal cycling and damp‐heat) to assess the stability of the product against environmental degradation. We show that, by using the reference epoxy adhesive, it is possible to manufacture a lightweight (~5 kg/m2) mini‐module in a 2‐step process, which successfully passes a selection of industry qualification tests, including thermal cycling, damp‐heat, and hail test. We further show that, by replacing epoxy by a PV adhesive, we are able to considerably simplify the manufacturing process, while preserving excellent mechanical and durability properties.

TL;DR: In this paper, a composite sandwich back-structure and a polymeric front layer were used for building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) applications, where the standard thermoset epoxy is substituted by different PV encapsulant foils.

TL;DR: In this article, the effect of the cooling press on the encapsulation properties of PV modules with EVA as the encapsulant are assessed on the aspects of residual stress in the modules, peeling strength between glass and EVA, and the resulting EVA gel content after encapsulation.