IEC 61215-1
Edition 2.0
2021-02
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
A * c o lo u r
in s id e
Terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules - Design qualification and type approval Part 1: Test requirements
Modules photovoltaiques (PV) pour applications terrestres - Qualification de la
conception et homologation Partie 1: Exigences d'essai
IEC 61215-1
Edition 2.0
2021-02
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
c o lo u r
in s id e
Terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules - Design qualification and type approval Part 1: Test requirements
Modules photovoltai'ques (PV) pour applications terrestres - Qualification de la
conception et homologation Partie 1: Exigences d'essai
IN T E R N A T IO N A L
E L E C T R O T E C H N IC A L
C O M M IS S IO N
C O M M IS S IO N
E L E C T R O T E C H N IQ U E
IN T E R N A T IO N A L E
ICS 27.160
ISBN 978-2-8322-9367-6
W a rning ! Make su re th a t yo u obtained th is p u b lic a tio n fro m an a uth o rize d d is trib u to r.
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® Registered trademark of the International Electrotechnical Commission
Marque deposee de la Commission Electrotechnique Internationale
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
CONTENTS
F O R E W O R D ..........................................................................................................................................................4
IN T R O D U C T IO N .................................................................................................................................................. 6
1
S c o p e ............................................................................................................................................................... 7
2
N orm ative re fe re n c e s ..................................................................................................................................7
3
Term s, d e fin itio n s and a bb re viate d te r m s ............................................................................................9
4
T est s a m p le s ................................................................................................................................................ 11
5
M arking and d o c u m e n ta tio n .................................................................................................................... 13
5.1
N a m e p la te ........................................................................................................................................ 13
5.2
D o c u m e n ta tio n ..................................................................................................................................13
5.2.1
M inim um re q u ire m e n ts ........................................................................................................ 13
5.2.2
Inform ation to be given in the d o c u m e n ta tio n ............................................................... 13
5.2.3
A ssem bly in s tru c tio n s .......................................................................................................... 15
6
T e s tin g ...........................................................................................................................................................15
7
Pass c r ite r ia ................................................................................................................................................. 17
7.1
G e n e ra l................................................................................................................................................17
7.2
P ow er o utp ut and e le ctric c ir c u itr y ............................................................................................ 18
7.2.1
Id e n tifica tio n o f rated values and to le ra n c e s ................................................................ 18
7.2.2
V e rifica tion o f rated label values —> G ate No. 1 ...........................................................20
7.2.3
M axim um pow er d egradation during type approval te sting -» G ate No. 2 .........23
7.2.4
E le ctrica l c irc u itr y .................................................................................................................. 23
7.3
V isu al d e fe c ts ...................................................................................................................................23
7.4
E le ctrica l s a fe ty ............................................................................................................................... 23
8
M ajor visual d e fe c ts ................................................................................................................................... 24
9
R e p o rt............................................................................................................................................................ 24
10 M o d ific a tio n s ............................................................................................................................................... 25
11 T est flo w and p ro c e d u re s ........................................................................................................................26
A nnex A (in fo rm a tive )
C hanges from pre vio u s e d itio n ........................................................................28
A.1
G e n e ra l............................................................................................................................................... 28
A .2
P ro ced ures fo r bifacial m o d u le s ................................................................................................. 28
A .3
Use o f rep re sen ta tive s a m p le s ....................................................................................................30
A .4
A d d itio n o f dyna m ic m echanical load te s t................................................................................31
A .5
A d d itio n o f te st fo r pote ntia l induced d e g ra d a tio n .................................................................31
A .6
S im u la to r re q u ire m e n ts ................................................................................................................. 33
A .6.1
G e n e ra l.....................................................................................................................................33
A .6.2
R ationale fo r chan ge s to spectral re q u ire m e n ts ..........................................................34
A .6.3
R ationale fo r chan ge s to u n ifo rm ity re q u ire m e n ts ......................................................35
A .7
R eferen ces to rete st g u id e lin e s .................................................................................................. 36
A .8
W e ig h t on ju n c tio n b o x e s ............................................................................................................. 36
A .9
C orrectio n to m o n o lith ic a lly -in te g ra te d h ot-spo t e nd uran ce t e s t ..................................... 36
A .10
N um ber of m odules in s e q u e n c e ................................................................................................38
A .1 1
R em oval o f nom inal m odule operating tem p era ture (N M O T )........................................... 39
A. 12
V ery low currents during th in -film t e s t s ................................................................................... 40
A .13
Lim it bypass diode testing to three d io d e s .............................................................................. 40
A. 14
R evert the insu latio n test to 2005 v e rs io n .............................................................................. 40
A .15
Bending te s t....................................................................................................................................... 41
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
A .16
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S tab iliza tion optio n fo r boron oxygen LID (M Q T 1 9 .3 ) ......................................................41
B ib lio g ra p h y ........................................................................................................................................................ 42
Figure 1 - G e om etry that show s radius o f c u rva tu re o f a fle x ib le m o d u le ......................................10
Figure 2 - Full te st flow fo r design q u a lific a tio n and type a pproval o f p ho tovo lta ic
m o d u le s ................................................................................................................................................................ 17
Figure 3 - E xam ples o f h ypo the tica l p artial nam eplates (le ft colum n), datasheets
(cen ter colum n), and derived rated values and to le ra n ce s (rig ht c o lu m n )..................................... 20
Figure A.1 - D erived te m p era ture c o e fficie n ts (a) fo r nine d iffe re n t m c-S i products
ty p e s ...................................................................................................................................................................... 38
Table 1 - R equired co m p on en t te s ts .......................................................................................................... 17
Table 2 - Sum m ary o f G ate No. 1 re q u ire m e n ts ..................................................................................... 17
Table 3 - Sum m ary o f te st le v e ls ................................................................................................................ 26
Table A.1 - P ublished u n ce rta in ty values as a fu nctio n o f s im u la to r u n ifo rm ity c la s s ................ 35
Table A .2 - Sum m ary o f fo il p lacem ent during insu latio n te st in three d iffe re n t
v e rs io n s ................................................................................................................................................................ 40
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
T E R R E S T R IA L P H O T O V O L T A IC (P V ) M O D U LE S D ESIG N Q U A L IF IC A T IO N AN D TY P E A P P R O V A L Part 1: T e s t req u irem en ts
FOREWORD
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this end and in add itio n to o th er a ctivitie s. IEC publishes In te rn a tio n al Standards, T echnical S p e cifica tio n s,
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P u b lica tio n (s)"). T he ir p reparation is e ntrusted to te ch nical com m ittees; any IEC N ational C om m ittee interested
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governm ental org a n iza tio n s lia isin g w ith the IEC also pa rticip a te in th is preparation. IEC co lla b o ra te s closely
w ith the In te rn a tio n al O rganization fo r S ta n d a rd iza tio n (IS O ) in accordance w ith co n d itio ns d e term ined by
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8) A ttention is drawn to the N orm ative references cite d in th is p ublication. Use o f the referenced p u b lica tio ns is
in d ispensable for the co rre ct a p p lica tio n o f this publication.
9) A ttention is draw n to the p o ssib ility th a t some o f the elem ents o f th is IEC P ublication m ay be the su b je ct
patent rights. IEC shall not be held resp o n sib le fo r ide n tifyin g any or all such patent rights.
of
In te rn atio na l S tandard IEC 61215-1 has been prepared by IEC te ch n ica l com m ittee 82: Solar
p h o to vo lta ic energy system s.
This second e dition o f IEC 61215-1 ca nce ls and replaces the firs t e dition o f IEC 61215-1,
published in 2016: it co n stitu te s a te chn ical revision.
T his e dition includes the fo llo w in g s ig n ific a n t te c h n ic a l changes w ith re s p e c t to the previous
edition:
a)
A d ditio n o f a te st taken from IEC TS 62782.
b)
A d ditio n o f a te st taken from IEC TS 62804-1.
c)
A d ditio n o f te st m ethods required fo r fle xib le m odules. This includes the add itio n o f the
bending te st (M Q T 22).
d)
A d ditio n o f d e fin itio n s, references and in s tru ctio n s on how to perform the IEC 61215
d esign q u a lifica tio n and type a pproval on bifacial PV m odules.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
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e)
C la rifica tio n o f the req uirem en ts related to pow er o utp ut m easurem ents.
f)
A d ditio n o f w eig hts to ju n c tio n box during 200 th erm al cycles.
g)
R equirem ent th a t rete sting be perform ed according to IEC TS 62915.
h)
R em oval o f the nom inal m odule ope ra ting te st
p erform an ce at NMOT, from the IEC 61215 series.
(N M O T),
and
a ssociated
te s t
of
In fo rm ative A nnex A e xplain s the background and reasoning behind som e o f the more
su bsta ntia l changes th a t w ere m ade in the IEC 61215 se ries in progressing from e dition 1 to
e dition 2.
The te xt o f th is In te rn atio na l S tandard is based on the fo llo w in g docum ents:
FDIS
Report on voting
82/1828A /F D IS
82/1848/R V D
Full inform a tion on the vo ting fo r the a pproval o f th is In te rn atio na l Standard can be found in
the rep ort on voting indicated in the above table.
This docu m e nt has been drafted in accorda nce w ith the IS O /IE C D irectives, Part 2.
A list o f all parts in the IEC 61215 series, p ublished u nder the g en eral title T errestrial
p h o to v o lta ic (PV) m od ule s - D esign q u a lific a tio n a nd type approval, can be found on the IEC
w ebsite.
T he co m m itte e has decided th a t the co nte nts o f th is d ocu m e nt w ill rem ain unchanged until the
sta b ility date indicated on the IEC w eb site u nder " h ttp ://w e b s to re .ie c .c h " in the data related to
the sp e cific docum ent. A t th is date, the d ocu m e nt w ill be
•
reconfirm ed,
•
w ithd ra w n,
•
replaced by a revised e dition , or
•
am ended.
IMPORTANT - The 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates that it
contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct understanding of its
contents. Users should therefore print this document using a colour printer.
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
INTRODUCTION
W hereas Part 1 o f this sta nd ard s series d escrib e s req uirem en ts (both in g en eral and sp ecific
w ith resp ect to device te ch n o lo g y), the su b-pa rts o f Part 1 defin e te chn olo gy va ria tio n s and
Part 2 defines a set o f te st procedures nece ssary fo r design q u a lific a tio n and typ e approval.
The te st procedures described in Part 2 are valid fo r all device te chnologies.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
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T E R R E S T R IA L P H O T O V O L T A IC (P V ) M O D U LE S DESIG N Q U A L IF IC A T IO N AN D TY P E A P P R O V A L Part 1: T e s t req u irem en ts
1
Scope
This d ocu m e nt lays dow n req uirem en ts fo r the d esign q u a lific a tio n o f te rre s tria l p ho tovo lta ic
m odules suitab le fo r long-term o pe ra tion in o p e n -a ir clim a tes. The useful se rvice life o f
m odules so q ua lifie d w ill depend on th e ir design, th e ir e n viro n m e n t and the co nd itio ns under
w hich th ey are operated. T est results are not construed as a q u a n tita tiv e p re dictio n o f m odule
lifetim e.
In c lim a te s w here 98th p ercen tile o pe ra ting te m p era ture s exceed 70 °C, users are
recom m ended to c o n sid e r te sting to h ig he r te m p era ture te st c o n d itio n s as d escrib e d in
IEC TS 63126. U sers desirin g q u a lific a tio n of PV p roducts w ith le s s e r life tim e e xpe ctatio n s
are recom m ended to co nside r te sting design ed fo r PV in co n su m e r e le ctron ics, as described
in IEC TS 63163 (under d eve lo pm e nt). U sers w ishing to gain co nfid en ce th a t the
ch a ra cte ristics tested in IEC 61215 app ea r c o n s is te n tly in a m anufactured p ro du ct m ay wish
to utilize IEC 62941 regarding q u a lity system s in PV m anufacturing.
This d ocu m e nt is intended to apply to all te rre s tria l fla t plate m odule m ate ria ls such as
crysta llin e silico n m odule typ es as w ell as th in -film m odules. It does not apply to system s that
are not long-term a pp lica tion s, such as fle x ib le m odules installed in a w nings o r tenting.
This docu m e nt does not apply to m odules used w ith concentrated su n lig h t although it m ay be
utilize d fo r low co n ce n tra to r m odules (1 to 3 suns). For low co nce n tra tio n m odules, all tests
are perform ed using the irra dian ce, cu rren t, voltage and pow er levels expected at the design
co nce ntra tion .
This docu m e nt does not address the p a rtic u la ritie s o f PV m odules w ith integ ra te d e le ctron ics.
It m ay how eve r be used as a basis fo r te sting such PV m odules.
The o b je ctive o f this te st sequence is to d ete rm ine the e le c tric a l c h a ra c te ris tic s of the m odule
and to show , as fa r as p ossible w ithin reason ab le co n s tra in ts o f cost and tim e, th a t the
m odule is ca pa ble o f w ithstan ding prolonged expo sure outd oo rs. A cce lerated te st co nd itio ns
are e m p irica lly based on those nece ssary to rep ro du ce selected observed fie ld fa ilu re s and
are applied e qu ally across m odule types. A cce leratio n fa c to rs m ay va ry w ith pro du ct design,
and thus not all degra da tion m echanism s m ay m anifest. F urth er g en eral inform a tion on
a ccelera ted te st m ethods inclu ding d e fin itio n s o f term s m ay be found in IEC 62506.
Som e long-term degra da tion m echanism s can only rea son ab ly be detected via com ponent
te sting , due to long tim es required to produce the fa ilu re and n ece ssity o f stress co nd itio ns
th a t are expe nsive to produce o ver large areas. C om po n en t te sts th a t have reached a
su fficie n t level o f m atu rity to set pass/fail c rite ria w ith high confid en ce are inco rp o ra ted into
the IEC 61215 se ries via add itio n to T able 1. In co ntrast, the te sts procedures described in
th is se ries, in IEC 61215-2, are perform ed on m odules.
2
Normative references
The fo llo w in g d ocu m e nts are referred to in the te x t in such a w ay th a t som e o r all o f th e ir
co nte nt co n stitu te s req uirem en ts o f this d ocum ent. For dated refe ren ces, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the la te s t e dition o f the referenced docu m e nt (in clud ing
any a m endm ents) applies.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
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IEC 60269-6, L ow -vo lta ge fuses - P art 6: S u p p le m e n ta ry re q u ire m e n ts fo r fu s e -lin k s fo r the
p ro te ctio n o f s o la r p h o to v o lta ic ene rg y system s
IEC 60891, P h o to vo lta ic devices - P ro ced ures fo r te m p era ture a nd irra d ia n c e c o rre ctio n s to
m ea sured l-V ch a ra cte ristics
IEC 60904-1, P h o to vo lta ic devices ch a ra cte ristics
P a rt 1: M e a surem e nt o f p h o to v o lta ic cu rre n t-vo lta g e
IEC TS 6 09 04 -1 -2 :2 01 9, P h o to vo lta ic devices - P a rt 1-2: M e a surem e nt o f cu rre n t-vo lta g e
ch a ra cte ristics o f b ifa c ia l p h o to v o lta ic (PV) devices
IEC 60904-3, P h o to vo lta ic devices P a rt 3: M ea surem e nt p rin c ip le s
p h o to v o lta ic (PV) s o la r devices w ith refe ren ce s p e c tra l irra d ia n c e data
fo r
te rre s tria l
IEC 60904-10, P h o to vo lta ic devices - P a rt 10: M ethods o f lin e a r dependence a nd lin e a rity
m easurem ents
IEC TS 60904-13, P h o to vo lta ic devices m odules
IEC 61140,
e qu ip m en t
P ro tectio n
a g a in st e le c tric
P art 13: E le ctro lu m in e sce n ce o f p h o to v o lta ic
sh ock
-
C om m on
a sp e cts
fo r in s ta lla tio n
and
IEC 61215-2, T e rre stria l p h o to v o lta ic (PV) m od ule s - D esign q u a lific a tio n a nd type a p p ro v a l P art 2: Test p ro ced ures
IEC 61730-1, P h o to vo lta ic (PV) m odule s a fe ty q u a lific a tio n co nstructio n
P a rt 1: R eq uirem en ts fo r
IEC 61730-2, P h o to vo lta ic (PV) m odule s a fe ty q u a lific a tio n - P a rt 2: R eq uirem en ts fo r testing
IEC TS 61836, S o la r p h o to v o lta ic e n e rg y syste m s - Terms, d e fin itio n s a nd sym bols
IEC 61853-1, P h o to vo lta ic (PV) m odule p erfo rm a n ce te s tin g and e n e rg y ra tin g Irra d ia nce and te m p era ture p erfo rm a n ce m ea surem e nts a nd p o w e r ratin g
P a rt 1:
IEC TS 62782, P h o to vo lta ic (PV) m od ule s - C yclic (dynam ic) m e c h a n ica l lo a d testing
IEC 62790, Ju n ctio n boxes fo r p h o to v o lta ic m od ule s - S a fe ty req uirem en ts a n d tests
IEC TS 62804-1, P h o to vo lta ic (PV) m od ule s - Test m ethods fo r the d ete ction o f p o te n tia lin d u ce d d e g ra da tion - P a rt 1: C rystallin e silico n
IEC 62852, C onnectors fo r D C -a p p lica tio n in p h o to v o lta ic syste m s - S a fe ty req uirem en ts and
tests
IEC TS 62915, P h o to vo lta ic (PV) m odules - Type approval, d esign and s a fe ty q u a lific a tio n R etestin g
IEC 62941, T e rre stria l
m an ufa ctu rin g
p h o to vo lta ic
(PV)
m odules
-
Q u a lity
system
fo r
PV
m odule
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
- 9 -
IEC TS 63163: - 1T e rre stria l p h o to v o lta ic (PV) m od ule s fo r co n su m e r p ro d u c ts q u a lifica tio n a nd type a p p ro va l
ISO/I EC G uide 98-3, U n ce rta in ty o f m e a su re m e n t u n ce rta in ty in m e a surem e nt (G U M :1995)
3
D esign
P a rt 3: G uide to the e xp re ssio n o f
Terms, definitions and abbreviated terms
For the purposes o f th is docum ent, the term s and d e fin itio n s in IEC TS 61836 apply, as well
as the fo llo w in g.
ISO and IEC m aintain te rm in o lo g ica l data ba se s fo r use in s ta n d a rd iza tio n at the follow ing
addresses:
•
IEC E lectropedia: a va ila b le at h ttp ://w w w .e le c tro p e d ia .o rg /
•
ISO O nline brow sing p latform : a vailab le a t h ttp ://w w w .iso .o rg /o b p
3.1
bins of pow er classes
pow er (typ ica lly m axim um pow er) sortin g c rite ria from the PV m odule m anufacturer
3.2
to lera n ce s <on label>
value range o f e le ctrica l p aram eters on the label o f the PV m odule as given
m anufacturer
by the
3.3
MQT
M odule Q u a lity T est
3.4
typ e approval
co n fo rm ity te st m ade on one o r m ore item s re p re se n ta tive o f the production
[S O U R C E : IEC 60050 -5 81 :2 00 8, 581-21-08 - Type test)
3.5
re p ro d u c ib ility < o f m easu rem en ts>
close ne ss o f a gree m e nt betw een the results o f m easurem ents o f the sam e value o f a
q ua ntity, w hen the ind ivid ua l m easurem ents are m ade under d iffe re n t co nd itio ns o f
m easurem ent:
-
p rincip le o f m easurem ent,
-
m ethod o f m easurem ent,
-
o bserver,
-
m easuring instrum ents,
-
refe ren ce standards,
-
laboratory,
1
U nder preparation. Stage at the tim e o f p ublication: ADTS.
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
under co n d itio n s o f use o f the instrum ents, d iffe re n t from those cu stom arily used,
a fte r intervals o f tim e re la tive ly long com pared w ith the
d uration
[co n siste n t w ith the In te rn atio na l V o cab u la ry o f M etro lo gy (V IM ), 3.7]
Note 1 to entry: The concepts o f "p rin cip le o f m easurem ent”
de fin ed in VIM 2.3 and 2.4.
o f asingle m easurem ent,
and "m ethod o f m easurem ent" are
respectively
Note 2 to entry: The term "re p ro d u cib ility" also a p p lie s to the instance w here only certain o f the above co nditions
are taken into account, provided th a t these are stated.
Note 3 to entry: It is recom m ended th a t la b o ra to rie s d e term in e th e ir re p ro d u cib ility according to the fo rm u la s and
principles in ISO 5725-2.
[S O U R C E : IEC 60050 -3 11 :2 00 1, 311-06-07]
3.6
fle x ib le m odule
PV m odule th a t e xh ib its a radius o f c u rva tu re o f 500 mm or less in at least one directio n
according to the m a n u fa ctu re r’s sp e c ific a tio n and is ca pa ble o f bending to conform to a fla t or
curved surface
Note 1 to entry:
A curved m odule w ith a rigid shape is not con sid e re d a fle xib le m odule.
Note 2 to entry: R adius o f curvature is defined as shown in Figure 1. During testing, the applied rad iu s o f
cu rva tu re is no sm alle r than th a t specified by the m anufacturer.
Figure 1 - G eo m etry th at show s radius of cu rva tu re o f a fle x ib le m odule
3.7
re p res en tativ e sam ple
sam ple that includes all the co m ponents o f the m odule, e xcept som e repeated parts
Note 1 to entry:
C lause 4.
The rep re se n ta tive sam ples shall use all key m aterials and subassem blies, as detaile d in
3.8
very large m odule
m odule th a t exceeds the size o f standard 2,2 m * 1,5 m c o m m e rc ia lly -a v a ila b le sim u lato rs
Note 1 to entry: A very large m odule exceeds 2,2 m in length or width, o r exceeds 1,5 m in both dim ensions. Thus
a 3 m x 0.3 m m odule is con sid e re d very large, as is a 2,2 m * 2,2 m m odule.
Note 2 to entry: V ery la rge m odules are exem pt from cla ss A sim u la to r spatial irradiance u n ifo rm ity requirem ents,
as detaile d in IEC 61215-2 MQT 02.
Note 3 to entry: During test sequences rep re se n ta tive sam ples may be sub stitute d fo r ve ry large m odules, w ith in
the lim its described in C lause 4.
Note 4 to entry: In futu re e d itions, the size threshold to be considered a very la rge m odule w ill like ly increase to
la rge r dim ensions.
3.9
bifacial PV m odules
m odules th a t can co n ve rt irra d ia tio n received on both the fro n t-s id e and re a r-sid e into e le ctric
ene rg y by m eans o f the p h o to vo lta ic effect
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
- 11 -
3.10
b ifac ia lity coe ffic ie n ts
ratios betw een the I-V c h a ra cte ris tic s o f the rea r-side and the fro n t-s id e o f a bifacial m odule
each m easured u nder S tandard T est C on ditio ns (STC - IEC TS 61836), nam ely the shortcircu it cu rre n t b ifa cia lity co e fficie n t <p|SC, the o p e n -c irc u it vo ltag e b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n t cpVoc
and the m axim um pow er b ifa cia lity c o e ffic ie n t <pPmax
Note 1 to entry:
B ifa cia lity co e fficie n ts are fu lly defined in IEC TS 60904-1-2:2019, 6.2.
3.11
bifacial n am ep late irrad ian ce
BNPI
h ig he r irra dian ce at w hich n am eplate v e rific a tio n is perform ed fo r bifacial m odules,
co rresp on din g to 1 000 W /m 2 on the m odule fro n t and 135 W /m 2 on the m odule rear, applied
in any m ethod allow ed by IEC TS 60904-1-2
3.12
bifacial stress irrad iance
BSI
h ig he r irra d ia n ce at w hich cu rren ts fo r s tre ss are m easured on bifacial m odules,
corresp on din g to 1 000 W /m 2 on the m odule fro n t and 300 W /m 2 on the m odule rear, applied
by any m ethod allow ed in IEC TS 60904-1-2, I-V c h a ra c te ris tic at w hich m ay be e xtra po lated
from low er irra dian ces
4
Test samples
The PV m odule sam ples shall have been m anufactured from sp ecified m ate ria ls and
co m ponents in accorda nce w ith the releva n t d raw ings and process sheets and have been
su bjected to the m a n u fa ctu re r’s norm al insp ectio n, q u a lity control and production acceptance
p rocedures. The PV m odules shall be com plete in every detail and shall be accom panied by
the m a n u fa ctu re r’s handling, m ounting, and conn ectio n instru ction s. W hen the PV m odules to
be tested are prototypes o f a new design and not from pro du ction , th is fa c t shall be noted in
the te st report (see C lause 9).
The n um ber o f te st sam ples
(see C lause 11).
required
is d erived
from
the
a pp lica ble
te st sequences
S pecial te st sa m p le s m ay be required fo r te sts such as the bypass diode te st M QT 18
(see IEC 61215-2).
For q u a lifica tio n o f m ultiple bins o f pow er classe s w ithin the b oundaries given in
IEC TS 62915 at least 2 m odules each, from the low er end, m edian and h ig he r end pow er
class shall be used fo r testing. If m edian pow er class does not e xist the next h ig he r class
shall be used. If q u a lifica tio n o f a single pow er class shall be extended to fu rth e r bins of
pow er classe s w ithin the b oundaries given in IEC TS 62915 then at least 2 m odules each,
from the low er end and h ig he r end pow er class shall be used fo r label v e rific a tio n (see Gate
No.1 in 7.2.1). If a pow er class is extended only to w ards h ig he r (or low er) bins, then m odules
only from the higher (or low er) bins, resp ective ly, shall be used fo r v e rific a tio n o f rated label
values.
Q u a lifica tio n to m ultiple bins o f pow er classe s does not increa se the m inim um re q uirem en t o f
one co ntrol sam ple used in 7.2.3.
It is a dvisab le
requirem ents.
to
provide
add itio na l
spare
sam ples
m eeting
the
sam e
o utp ut
pow er
-1 2 -
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
If a pplicable, the te st sam ples shall be used to rep re se n t a g roup o r fa m ily o f products, or
v a ria tio n s in the m aterials, or p ro du ction p rocesses used to produce the m odules. The
a dd itio n a l sam ples required fo r the te s t program m e are then derived from IEC TS 62915.
For ve ry large m odules (as defined in 3.8), rep re sen ta tive sam ples (as d efined in 3.7) m ay be
used fo r all q u a lifica tio n tests given in C lause 11 and IEC 61215-2. D uring the d esign and
m an ufa ctu rin g o f the re p re se n ta tive sam ples, atte ntio n should be paid to reach the m axim um
sim ila rity to the fu ll-s iz e pro du ct in all e le c tric a l, m echanical, and th erm al c h a ra c te ris tic s
related to q u a lity and re lia b ility. The cell, e nca psu la tio n m ethods, intercon ne cts, te rm ina tion s,
clea ra n ce and cree pa ge d ista n ce s around all edges, and d istance th ro ug h solid insu latio n
(relied upon insu latio n and cem ented jo in ts ) shall be the sam e as on the actua l fu ll-s iz e
products. Lim its are placed on how much one m ay reduce the d im en sion s o f a ve ry large
m odule in m aking re p re se n ta tive sam ples fo r q u a lific a tio n testing. The reduced d im en sion (s)
shall be no less than one h a lf the d im en sion s th a t defin e a ve ry large m odule. In o th e r w ords,
w hen reducing the sh o rte r dim ension, the rep re sen ta tive sam ple shall be a t le a st 0,75 m wide.
In reducing the lon ge r d im en sion , the rep re sen ta tive sam ple shall be at least 1,1 m long. If
rep re sen ta tive sam ples are used fo r any test, the te st report shall inclu de a table listing the
d im ensions o f the pro du ct being q u a lifie d , and fo r each M QT, the d im en sion s o f the sam ples
tested. The table sh all contain the statem ent, "S m a lle r sa m p le s w ere used fo r som e tests as
noted above. Use o f sm a lle r sam ples m ay a ffe c t te st re su lts." For d ete rm ina tion o f m axim um
pow er d e g ra da tion during testing (7.2 .3 ) on a re p re se n ta tive sam ple, Pmax(La b_ G a teN o .1)
refers to the re p re se n ta tive s a m p le ’s initia l sta bilized m easured pow er o utp ut. H ow ever, for
ve rifica tio n o f rated label va lu es (7.2 .2 ) a standard production pro du ct shall be m easured,
either at the te st fa c ility or u tilizing a te st at the m an ufa ctu re r m onitored by the te sting entity.
If rep re sen ta tive sa m p le s are utilize d in S equence E, then one extra m odule, fu ll-s iz e d , is
required, and shall be su bjected only to MQT 16 (sta tic m echanical load te st) and the
req uirem en ts therein.
Any rep re sen ta tive sam ple used fo r M QT 09 (h o t-sp o t e nd uran ce te s t) shall contain the sam e
n um ber o f cells per bypass diode (i.e. the sam e su bstring size) as the fu ll-s iz e product.
NOTE It is p re fe ra ble in any test to m easure a fu ll-s iz e sam ple, rather than a rep re se n ta tive sam ple, when
equipm ent size allow s.
P rio r to b eginning the q u a lifica tio n te st, care should be taken not to dam age the sam ples in
tra n sit. Such ca re m ay include a dherence to best pra ctices in packing and s h ip p in g ,[1 ]2 as
w ell as e le ctro lu m in e sce n ce im aging a ccordin g to IEC TS 60904-13 before and a fte r shipping
to m ake sure cracks have not d eveloped in tran sit.
For the req uirem en ts in the IEC 61215 series, a m odule shall be considered "b ifa cia l " if the
m an ufa ctu re r claim s b ifa cia lity on the n am eplate or d atasheet, o r if the m odule exhibits a
m axim um pow er b ifa c ia lity co e ffic ie n t > 20 %. If a m odule is to be tested as a m onofacial
m odule, the te st la b o ra to ry shall v e rify th a t the m odule is m onofacial by at least one o f the
fo llo w in g m ethods:
a) Inform ation from the m an ufa ctu re r show ing th a t the rear o f the ce ll is fu lly m eta llize d;
b) S p e ctra lly-re so lve d backsh ee t tran sm issio n data from the m odule m anufacturer; or
c)
2
D eterm ination o f b ifa cia lity c o e ffic ie n t on one sam ple a ccordin g to the pro ced ure in
IEC TS 60904-1-2.
Num bers in square brackets refe r to the Bibliography.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
5
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Marking and documentation
5.1
Nam e plate
Each m odule shall include the fo llo w in g cle a r and ind elible m arkings. U nless o therw ise
indicated, all the e le ctrica l param eters refe r to STC:
a)
nam e, reg istered tra d e nam e o r reg istered trad e m ark o f m anufacturer;
b)
type or m odel n um ber design atio n ;
c)
serial n um ber (unless m arked on o th e r part o f product);
d)
date and place o f m anufacture; a lte rn a tiv e ly se rial n um ber a llo w in g to trace the date and
place o f m anufacture;
e)
m axim um system voltage;
f)
class o f p rotection a g a in st e le ctrica l shock (as d efined
g)
vo ltag e at o p e n -circu it or V oc including to leran ces. For bifacial m odules, o p e n -circu it
vo ltag e shall be reported at tw o irra dian ce levels. The firs t required irra d ia n ce level is
1 000 W /m 2. The second required irra d ia n ce is BNPI, as defined in 3.11.
h)
cu rre n t at s h o rt-c irc u it or Isc including to leran ces. For bifacial m odules,
cu rre n t shall be reported at tw o irra dian ce levels, d efined in 5.1g).
i)
m odule m axim um pow er or Pm ax including binning and to le ra n ce s as defined in 3.1 and
3.2. For b ifacial m odules, Pm ax shall be reported a t the tw o irra dian ce levels, d efined in
5.1g).
j)
For b ifacial m odules the fo llo w in g inform a tion inclu ding to leran ces, sh all be given on the
n am eplate: The va lu es fo r the s h o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n t tplsc, the opencircu it voltage b ifa cia lity co e ffic ie n t cpVoc, and the m axim um pow er b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n t
cpPmax, m easured at STC as d efined in IEC TS 60904-1-2.
k)
For fle x ib le m odules, the m inim um radius o f cu rva ture .
in IEC 61140 and IEC 61730-1);
sh o rt-c irc u it
For item s a) th ro ug h i) all e le ctric a l data shall be show n as relative to STC (1 000 W /m 2,
25 °C, A M 1.5 according to IEC TS 61836), e xcep t fo r bifacial m odules w here tw o irradiance
levels are required, as defined in 5.1g).
In te rn atio na l sym bols shall be used w here applicable.
C om pliance o f m arking is checked by inspection and M QT 06.1.
5.2
D o cu m en tation
5.2.1
M inim um req uirem ents
M odules shall be supplied w ith docu m e ntatio n describ ing the m ethods o f e le ctrica l and
m echanical insta lla tio n as w ell as the e le ctrica l ratin gs o f the m odule. The docu m e ntatio n
shall state the class o f p rotection a ga in st e le ctrica l shock under w hich the m odule has been
q ua lifie d and any sp e cific lim ita tio n s required fo r th a t class. The docu m e ntatio n shall assure
th a t in sta lle rs and o p e ra to rs receive a pp ro priate and s u ffic ie n t docu m e ntatio n fo r safe
in sta lla tio n , use, and m aintenance o f the PV m odules.
NOTE
5.2.2
It is considered to be su fficie n t th a t one set o f docum entation is supplied w ith the m odule sh ipping unit.
In fo rm atio n to be given in the d o cu m en tation
a)
all inform ation required under 5.1 e) to i), and in add itio n j) fo r b ifa cia l m odules and k) for
fle xib le m odules;
b)
reverse cu rre n t overlo a d rating in accorda nce w ith IEC 61730-2 MST 26;
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
- 14 -
o ve rcu rre n t p ro tectio n device typ e and rating are e.g. given in IEC 60269-6.
O ve rcu rre n t p ro tectio n devices w ith a 1 h, 1,35 / n overlo a d rating, w here / n is the rated
value o f the o ve rcu rre n t p rotection device, are recom m ended;
-
recom m ended m axim um s e rie s /p a ra lle l PV m odule co n fig u ra tio n s;
c)
m a n u fa ctu re r’s stated to le ra n ce fo r Voc, / sc and m axim um pow er o utp ut u nder standard
te st co nd itio ns;
d)
te m p era ture co e ffic ie n t fo r vo ltag e at o p e n -circu it;
e)
te m p era ture co e ffic ie n t fo r m axim um power;
f)
te m p era ture co e ffic ie n t fo r sh o rt-c irc u it current.
All e le ctrica l data m entioned above shall be show n as relative to standard te st co nd itio ns
(1 000 W /m 2, 25 °C, A M 1.5 according to IEC TS 61836). M oreover the fo llo w in g p aram eters
shall be sp ecified :
g)
perform ance at low irra dian ce (M Q T 07).
In te rn atio na l sym bols shall be used w here a pplicable.
C om plia nce is checked by insp ectio n and MQT 04 th ro ug h MQT 07.
The e le ctrica l docu m e ntatio n shall include a detailed d escrip tio n o f the e le ctrica l insta lla tio n
w iring m ethod to be used. T his d escrip tio n shall include:
h)
the m inim um ca ble d ia m e te rs fo r m odules intended fo r field w iring;
i)
any lim ita tio n s on w iring
co m p artm en t or box;
j)
the size, type, m ate ria l and te m p era ture rating o f the co nd ucto rs to be used;
k)
typ e o f te rm in a ls fo r fie ld w iring;
I)
sp ecific PV co n n e cto r m odel/types and m a n u fa ctu re r to w hich the m odule co nn ecto rs shall
be m ated. S tate m en t o f the co n n e cto r type only (such as "M C4 co m p atib le ") is not
s u ffic ie n t inform a tion to sa tis fy th is
req uirem en t. C on ne cto r m odel/types and
m an ufa ctu re rs shall be included;
m ethods
and
w ire
m anagem ent th a t a pp ly to the w iring
m) the bonding m ethod(s) to be used (if a p p lic a b le ); all provided or specified hardw are shall
be ide ntifie d in the docu m e ntatio n;
n)
the typ e and ratin gs o f bypass diode to be used (if a pp lica ble );
o)
lim ita tion s to the m ounting situ atio n (e.g., slop e, o rie n ta tio n , m ounting m eans, co oling );
p)
a sta te m e n t ind icatin g the fire ratin g(s) and the applied standard as well as the lim ita tion s
to th a t rating (e.g., insta lla tio n slope, sub stru ctu re o r o th e r a p p lic a b le installatio n
inform a tion );
q)
a sta te m e nt ind icatin g the design load per each m echanical m eans fo r securing the
m odule as e valuated during the s ta tic m echanical load te st according to M QT 16. At
d iscre tio n o f the m an ufa ctu re r the te st load a nd /or the sa fe ty fa c to r y m may be noted, too.
To allo w fo r increased o u tp u t o f a m odule resu ltin g from certa in c o n d itio n s o f use, the
in sta lla tio n instru ction s shall include re le va n t p aram eters specified by m an ufa ctu re r or the
fo llo w in g sta te m e nt or the equivalent:
"U nder n o rm a l co nd itio ns, a p h o to v o lta ic m odule is lik e ly to expe rie nce c o n d itio n s that
p ro d u ce m ore cu rre n t a n d /o r voltage than re p o rte d a t sta n d a rd te s t conditions. A ccordingly,
the values o f I s c a nd Vo c m arked on th is m odule sh o u ld be m u ltip lie d b y a fa c to r o f 1,25
when d ete rm in in g co m p on en t voltage ratings, c o n d u c to r cu rre n t ratin gs, a nd size o f co ntrols
co n n e cte d to the P V o u tp u t."
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
5.2.3
-1 5 -
A ssem bly in stru ctio n s
These shall be provided w ith a pro du ct shipped in su ba ssem blies, and shall be deta ile d and
a de qu ate to the degree required to fa c ilita te co m p le te and safe a ssem bly o f the product.
6
Testing
The te st lab ora tory shall use a lab ora tory s im u la to r co n tro l m odule to be able to d ete ct drifts
in th e ir m easurem ent results. The lab ora tory s im u la to r control m odule is d iffe re n t than the
co ntrol m odule from sequence A, w hich is taken from the m odules under te st and is described
in 7 .2.3 related to the re p ro d u cib ility r. The lab ora tory s im u la to r co ntrol m odule is a stable
m odule used on a p erio d ic basis to check s im u la to r o utp ut a fte r c a lib ra tio n to a sp ecific
irradiance.
The m odules shall be divided into groups and su bjected to the q u a lific a tio n te st se qu en ces in
Figure 2. Q u a lifica tio n te st sequences are to be ca rried out in the o rd e r sp ecified. The MQT
d esig n a tio n s in the boxes refer to the co rresp on din g te st d e fin itio n s in IEC 61215-2.
T e ch n o lo g y-sp e cific te st d eta ils are listed in the resp ective parts o f th is standard. R equired
m odule co m p on en t te sts are listed in T able 1. For each co m p on en t q u a lifica tio n , the te st
rep ort shall note the te st la b o ra to ry nam e and date w hen the re q u ire m e n t w as met. Prior
ce rtific a tio n s m ay be used to fu lfill these req uirem en ts, as long as the c e rtific a tio n s w ere
perform ed in a ccorda nce w ith all c o n d itio n s noted in T able 1.
In te rm ed iate m easurem ents o f m axim um pow er (M Q T 02) and insu latio n te s t (M Q T 03) are
not required, but they m ay be used to track changes.
A ny single te st execu ted ind ep en d en tly o f a te s t sequence, e.g., on sp ecial te st sam ples for
M QT 09 and MQT 18, shall be preceded by the initia l te sts o f MQT 01, M QT 02, MQT 03, and
M QT 15 as a ppropriate.
In carrying out the tests, the te s te r shall s tric tly o bse rve the m an ufa ctu re r's handling,
m ounting, and conn ectio n instru ction s. S equence A m ay be om itted if the m odule type has
been tested a ccordin g to IEC 61853-1. In th is case the re le va n t te s t results from IEC 61853-1
shall be stated or referenced in the fin a l report. For b ifacial m odules S equence A ca nn ot be
om itted until IEC 61853-1 has been am ended to take b ifacial m odules into account.
T est co n d itio n s are sum m arized in T able 3. The te st levels in T able 3 are the m inim um levels
required fo r q u a lifica tio n . If the la b o ra to ry and the m odule m an ufa ctu re r agree, the tests m ay
be perform ed w ith increased se veritie s. In th is case this shall be noted in the te s t report.
For fle x ib le m odules (see 3.6), the m ounting s u b stra te and adhesive o r a tta chm en t m eans
shall also be included in the te st. If m ore than one m ounting su bstrate or adhesive or
a tta chm en t m eans is allow ed per the m a n u fa ctu re r's s p e cifica tio n , then the tests shall use the
co m b in a tion th a t is co nside red to be the w o rs t case. The chosen co m b in a tio n (s) shall be
reported, as per C lause 9, j).
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-1 6 -
i
1 Module
Sequence A
1 Module
Sequence B
2 Modules
Sequence 0
2 Modules
Sequence E
MQT 11
Thermal cycling test
200 cycles
-4 0 *C to 85 "C
MQT 13
Damp heat test
1 OOOh
85 ’ C / 85 % RH
____L____
MQT07
Performance
at low
irradiance d
I
MQT 08 Outdoor
Exposure Test
60 kWh/mJ
MQT 10
UV preconditioning test
15 kWh/m2
MQT 18 1
Bypass diode
thermal te s ta
MQT 20
Cyclic (dynamic) mechanical
load test
1 000 cycles at 1 000 Pa
1
MQT04
Measurement of
temperature
coefficientsa
MQT 19.2
Final Stabilization
MQT 06 1
Performance at STC
MQT 09
Hot-spot
endurance te s t'
MQT 18 2
Bypass diode
functionality test
;
MQT 11
Thermal cycling test
50 cycles
-4 0 °C to 85 aC
MQT 12
Humidity freeze test
10 cycles
-4 0 °C to 85 *C
85 % RH
1 Module ‘
1 Module
MQT 16
Static mechanical
load test
(design load)
MQT 17
Hail test
MQT 22
Bending test
Flexible module only
25 cycles
MQT 14.1
Retention of junction
box test
1 Module
measured together with modules
from sequences B-E as control
and to determine reproducibility r
MQT 19.2
Final stabilization
MQT 06 1
Performance at STC
MQT 03
Insulation test
MQT 15
Wet leakage current test
a
If the bypass diodes are not a cce ssib le in the standard m odules, a special sam ple can be prepared for the
bypass diode therm al test (MQT 18.1). The bypass diode should be m ounted p h ysica lly as it would be in a
standard m odule, w ith lead w ires attached, as required in MQT 18 o f IEC 6 1215-2:2021. T his sam ple does not
have to go through the o th er te sts in the sequence.
b
In sequence B, a d iffe re n t m odule may be used fo r the H ot-spot endurance te st (MQT 09) than is used for the
bypass therm al d iode te st (MQT 18.1). For th is separate m odule the fo llo w in g te st sequence is perm issible:
MQT 01, MQT 19.1, MQT 06.1 (gate 1), MQT 03, MQT 15, MQT 09, and MQT 18.2.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
- 17 -
c
The in itia l s ta b iliza tio n MQT 19.1 m ay include the ve rificatio n o f an alte rn a te sta b iliza tio n procedure (see
IEC 61215-2:2021).
d
In Sequence A. te sts MQT 07, and MQT 04 m ay be perform ed in any order. These te sts may also be perform ed
on separate m odules (ra th e r than se q u en tia l te sts on one m odule), provided th a t each m odule used has
proceeded through the e n tire test flow preceding sequence A.
6
If rep re se n ta tive sam ples are u tilized in Sequence E, one extra m odule, fu ll-size d , is required, and shall be
su bjected only to MQT 16 and the req u ire m e n ts therein.
Figure 2 - Full test flo w fo r design q u alifica tio n and typ e approval
o f p h o to v o lta ic m odules
Table 1 - R equired c om po n ent tests
Com ponent
Shall pass this test
Junction box
IEC 6 1 215-2:201x MQT 14.2, w hich cites IEC 62790 "T e st o f cord a n ch ora g e .”
C onnectors
IEC 62852. C om pliance shall be obtained w ith the co n n ecto r in com bination with
the same cable size and type as used in the m odules under test.
7
P a s s c r ite r ia
7.1
G eneral
M odules under te st are su bject to several typ es o f req uirem en ts. T hese include required
m arkings (de taile d in C lause 5), com p arison o f m easured e le c tric a l q u a n titie s w ith the
nam eplate ( "g ate No. 1 ” , deta ile d in this clause), co m p arison o f m easured pow er before and
a fte r stress ( "gate No. 2 ", deta ile d in th is clause), co m p on en t req uirem en ts (de taile d in
T able 1), and the req uirem en ts o f each M QT (sum m arized in T able 3 and Figure 2).
The design is deem ed to have m et the q u a lific a tio n req uirem en ts o f 7.2.2 gate No. 1, if they
m eet the req uirem en ts o f Table 2:
T ab le 2 - S um m ary of G ate No. 1 req uirem en ts
Sam ple size (in m odules)
NOTE
Requirem ent
<10
A ll m odules shall pass. No fa ilu re is allow ed.
>10
A sin g le fa ilu re is allo w a b le . A ll other m odules shall pass.
A sam ple size <10 is o n ly encountered during retesting.
If m odules fa il to m eet the req uirem en ts listed in T able 2 then tw o new sam ples shall be
te ste d fo r each o f the m odules th a t fa ile d to m eet the gate No. 1 c rite ria . If a new
fa ilu re occurs, the m odule su p p lie r has two o ptions. The firs t option is that the m odule labels
fo r the e xistin g sam ple set shall be redefined such that the req uirem en ts o f T able 2 are met,
and te sting on th a t sam e sam ple set shall co ntin ue to the next step. The second optio n is that
the design is deem ed not to have m et the q u a lific a tio n req uirem en ts, and any fu rth e r testing
co n stitu te s a new a tte m p t at q u a lific a tio n and thus requires a co m p le te ly new batch of
m odules. M odule labels shall be redefined and sam ples shall be resu bm itte d fo r testing.
-1 8 -
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
In add itio n, if tw o o r m ore m odules fa il to m eet the rem aining te st c rite ria (7.2.3 G ate No. 2,
7.2.4 e le ctrica l circu itry, 7.3 visual defe cts and 7.4 e le ctrica l sa fety), the d esign shall be
deem ed not to have m et the q u a lific a tio n req uirem en ts. If one m odule fa ils any test, two
a dd itio n a l m odules m eeting the req uirem en ts o f C lause 4 shall be su bjected to the entire
se ries o f tests o f the resp ective te st sequence. The re q uirem en t fo r tw o a dd itio n a l m odules
a pp lie s fo r te sts w here o rig in a lly only one m odule w as required, as w ell as fo r te sts w here
o rig in a lly tw o m odules w ere required. For exam ple, a fa ilu re in the h ot-spo t e ndurance test
requires a te st rep etitio n w ith tw o a dd itio n a l m odules. A sin g le fa ilu re in the 50 th erm al cycles
te st (one m odule not m eeting the te st re q uirem en ts) requires a te st rep etitio n w ith two
a dd itio n a l m odules as w ell.
If one or both o f these m odules a lso fa il, the design shall be deem ed not to have m et the
q u a lifica tio n req uirem en ts. If, how ever, both m odules pass the te st sequence, the design shall
be jud ge d to have m et the q u a lifica tio n requirem ents.
T he m odule design shall m eet the req uirem en ts o f all criteria to be deem ed as q ualified
according to th is docum ent. Each te s t sam ple shall be s u b je c t to the fo llo w in g criteria.
7.2
Pow er o u tp u t and e le c tric c ircu itry
7.2.1
Id e n tific atio n of rated values and to leran ces
Gate No. 1 crite ria detailed in the fo llo w in g su bclau ses req uire use o f rated values and
to le ra n ce s from the n am eplate and pro du ct d ata she e t. T his clause d escrib e s in detail, with
e xam ples, how to id e n tify the releva n t inform a tion . A p p lica tio n o f the inform a tion in th is clause
results in co n siste n t req uirem en ts when e xtra ne o us inform a tion is given, o r w hen inform a tion
a ppears to be m issing or co n flictin g . Rated values and to le ra n ce s shall each be identified fo r
m odule pow er, sh o rt-c irc u it current, and o p e n -c irc u it vo ltag e. T hus, this clause d e ta ils how to
id e n tify these six pieces o f inform ation.
NOTE 1 H isto rica lly, some products have quoted m ultiple com ponents o f uncertainty, or have used d iffe re n t
te rm in o lo g y fo r u n ce rta in ty, such as "to le ra n ce ," "p ro d u ctio n to le ra n ce ," "m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty,” etc. Also,
some pro d u cts have not provided a to le ra n ce , w hich m ight be in te rp re ted as 0 % to le ra n ce or as m issing
in form ation. W hile a m an u fa ctu re r is not p rohibited from providing a d d itio na l in form ation, or having 0 % tolerance,
app lica tio n o f the rules in th is clause provide a co n siste nt m anner to in te rp re t such situ a tio ns.
Inform ation identified in th is clause relates to STC c u rre n t-v o lta g e m easurem ents, obtained in
the m anner prescribed by fo llo w in g the flow ch a rt o f Figure 2. T hus, the obtained values are
those m easured only a fte r initia l s ta b iliz a tio n perform ed a ccordin g to IEC 61215-2 MQT 19.1.
R equired s ta b iliza tio n procedures m ay d iffe r from one pro du ct to the next, as specified in the
te ch n o lo g y-sp e cific parts IEC 612 15 -1 -x. T he ca lcu la tio n o f to le ra n ce s is the re s p o n s ib ility o f
the m odule m an ufa ctu re r. Each to leran ce ( ^ , t2 and /3) shall be e x p lic itly stated as a single
value fo r each o f the p erform an ce p aram eters ( Z ^ x , Pqc ar,d
c resp e ctive ly). For b ifacial
m odules, the six pieces o f inform a tion (values and to le ra n ce s fo r m odule pow er, s h o rt-c irc u it
current, and o p e n -circu it vo ltag e) shall also be ide ntifie d at BNPI to evalua te G ate No. 1.
NOTE 2
ISO G uide 98-3 provides fu rth e r guidance regarding how to com bine m ultiple so u rce s o f uncertainty.
F orm ulas (1) and (2) in 7 .2.2 ve rify th a t the m odules produce at least as m uch pow er as the
m inim um indicated by com bining the nam eplate rating and to le ra n ce . The m inim um nam eplate
pow er rating, Pmax(NP) is the m odule pow er o u tp u t sp ecified on the n am eplate. If a single
value fo r m odule pow er is stated on the nam eplate, / ’ maxCNP) is sim p ly th a t value. If a range
o f m odule pow ers is stated on the nam eplate, ^ ^ ( N P ) is the pow er at the low est end o f that
range. S ubclause 5.2.2 requires th a t pow er b inning and to le ra n ce inform a tion from the
n am eplate is reproduced in the d ata she e t. In the case th a t / >max(N P ) d erived from the
d atasheet is d iffe re n t than th a t on the n am eplate, the m odule shall be jud ge d as not satisfying
5.2.2 and thus does not m eet the req uirem en ts o f IEC 61215-1.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-1 9 -
The to leran ce, / 1t is the to leran ce in % fo r Pmax stated on the n am eplate and d atasheet, as
required by 5.1 i) and 5.2.2a). If the to leran ce is a sym m e tric a bout ^ max(NF>)« the to leran ce
refe rring to the low pow er lim it shall be utilize d as ^ . If the to leran ce is not stated on the
nam eplate o r is not sta te d on the d ata she e t, then / 1 = 0. If to le ra n ce is not reduced to a single
value on the n am eplate or data sheet (for exam ple, if m ultiple to le ra n ce s o r m easurem ent
u nce rta inty co m ponents are sp e cifie d ) the s m a lle s t num ber, not a com bination o f m ultiple
num bers, shall be utilized.
F orm ulas (3) and (4) ve rify, fo r sa fety reasons, th a t the m odule does not produce m ore
vo ltag e at open circu it, or cu rre n t a t s h o rt-c irc u it, than the m axim um indicated by com bining
the n am eplate rating and to leran ce. The m axim um open c irc u it vo ltag e ^0C(N P ) and m axim um
sh o rt-circu it cu rre n t / SC(N P ) are those sp ecified on the nam eplate. If a range fo r o p e n -c irc u it
vo ltag es or sh o rt-c irc u it cu rren ts is stated on the nam eplate, ^0C(NP) or / SC(N P ) is to be taken
as the h ig he st va lu e in th a t range. The to leran ce (/2 fo r open c irc u it vo ltag e, o r /3 fo r sh o rtcircu it cu rre n t) is th a t sp ecified on the n am eplate and in the pro du ct d ocu m e ntatio n, as
required by 5.1g), 5.1 h), and 5 .2.2c). If t2 (or /3) is a sym m etric a bout K0C(NP) (or / SC(N P )), the
to leran ce refe rring to the h ig he r end o f the range shall be utilize d. If t2 or /3 is not stated in
the d ocum entation and on the nam eplate, th a t to le ra n ce shall be ide ntifie d as 0. In the case
th a t K0C(NP), / SC(NP), o r the to le ra n ce s in these q ua n titie s are d iffe re n t when d erived from the
d a ta she e t than from the nam eplate, the m odule shall be jud ge d as not sa tisfying 5.2.2 and
thus does not m eet the requirem ents o f IEC 61215-1. If a to le ra n ce is not reduced to a single
value on the nam eplate or data sheet (for exam ple, if m ultiple to le ra n ce s o r m easurem ent
u n ce rta in ty co m ponents are sp e cifie d ) the s m a lle s t num ber, not a com bination o f m ultiple
num bers, shall be utilized.
Figure 3 show s p artial nam eplates, data she e ts, and d erived values fo r fo u r hypo the tica l
products. These e xam ples illu stra te the rules fo r ide ntifyin g rated values and to le ra n ce s that
w ere d escrib e d in the preceding su bclauses.
-
Product Z300W
20-
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
Product 2 series
Electrical Data at STC
Maximum power { P ^ )
300 W
±3%
Maximum power voltage ( F ^)
37 V
Maximum power voltage - »'^(V)
Maximum power current (7„J
8.1 A
Maximum power current (7^,) (A)
Open circuit voltage" -
(V)
Short circuit current* - I x (A)
Module efficiency -
Open circuit voltage1 (K J
45.9 V
Short circuit current* (/K)
8.9 A
Maximum DC system voltage
1 000 V
Peak power watts ±3 % - / '(1M(W)
(%)
300
37
305
37.2
310
37.5
8.1
82
8.27
45.9
45,9
45.9
8.9
8.92
8.98
14
14.2
14.4
^
(NP) = 300 W: /, = 3 %
»'K (NP) = 45,9 V; i, = 5 %
/ k (NP) = 8 .9 A ./, = 5 %
tS % / - 0 % tolerance on / and »'
1+5 % / - 0 % tolerance
Product X series
Electrical Data at STC
Product X300W
Manmum power (/>niM)
296 to
300 W
37 V
Maximum power voltage (F ^)
Peak power watts* - ^ ( W )
Maximum power voltage - J’^ fV )
296 to 301 to 306 to
300
305
310
37
37.2
37.5
Maximum power current (7^)
8.1 A
Maximum power current (7„J (A)
Open circuit voltage* ( l'„ )
Short circuit current* (/K)
45.9 V
8.9 A
Open circuit voltage* - Vm (V)
Short orcwt current* - l v (A)
8,1
45.9
8,9
8.2
45.9
8.92
45,9
8,98
Max«num DC system voltage
1 000 V
Module efficiency - rjm(%)
14
14.2
14,4
Peak power watts - P ^ ( W )
3C0
305
310
Power output tolerance (%)
Maximum power voltage - J '^fV )
■0 / +3 -0 /+ 3 -0 /+ 3
37
37.2 37.5
Maximum power current ( /^ ) (A)
8.1
45.9
8.2
45.9
8,27
8,9
14
8.92
14.2
8,98
14,4
^
(NP) = 296 W; /, = 0 %
Vm (NP) = 45.9 V; r2 = 4 %
A* (NP) = 8.9 A; /, = 4 %
8.27
If /, is not specified, it is
taken to be 0.
* 14 % production tolerance
1±4 % production tolerance
Product Y series
Electrical Data at STC
Product Y300W
Maximum power ( f ^ )
300 W
±3 % / -0
Maximum power voltage (
Maximum power current ( / ^
37 V
8.1 A
Open circuit voltage * b (1'^)
45.9 V
Open circuit voltage * b • Vx (V)
Short circuit current **■(/m)
89 A
Short circuit current * “ - / „ (A)
Maximum DC system voltage
1 000 V
* ±2 % measurement uncertainty
Module efficiency - n„ (%)
45,9
(NP) = 300 W; /, = 0 %
VK (NP) = 45.9 V; r2 = 2 %
Ac (NP) = 0.9 A: / j = 2 %
t3 is not reduced to a single
value. Thus, the smaller
value is chosen The same
situation exists for t3.
* ±2 % measurement uncertainty
• ±10 % tolerance on / „ and Vx
*• HO % tolerance on I x and
Product T series
Electrical Data at STC
Product T300W
Maximum power ( P ^ )
Power selection (±5 W)
Maximum power voltage (T ^)
300 W
37 V
Peak power watts* (W)
Maximum power voltage - r ^ ( V )
300
37
310
37.5
Maximum power current (/^J
8.1 A
Maximum power current ( 1 ^ (A)
8,1
8.27
Open circuit voltage (1^)
Short circuit current (7k )
45.9 V
8.9 A
Open circuit voltage* - r K (V)
45.9
45.9
Short arcuit current* -
8,9
8.98
Maximum DC system voltage
±3 % tolerance on
Ix,
1 000 V
Module efficiency - ijn (%)
14
14.4
(A)
Farts to meet requirements
of IEC 61215-1 5.2.2.
lo w er edge of power bin is
295 W on nameplate, but
is 300 W on datasheet
* ±3 % tolerance on P ^ , IK, ^
IEC
Figure 3 - Exam ples o f h yp o th etica l p artial n am ep lates (left c olum n), datash eets (ce n te r
colum n), and derived rated values and to lera n ce s (rig h t colum n)
7.2.2
V e rific atio n of rated label valu es —> Gate No. 1
All m odules shall be sta bilized fo llo w in g m ethod MQT 19.1 from IEC 61215-2:2021 (for
te ch n o lo g y sp e cific req uirem en ts, see su b-pa rts o f IEC 6 12 15 -1 ). A fte r s ta b iliz a tio n the
m odules shall be m easured in a ccorda nce w ith M QT 6.1 ( / >max(La b)) and shall m eet the
fo llo w in g criteria:
/'max ve rifica tio n :
Each individ ua l m odule shall m eet the fo llo w in g criterion :
Pmax(Lah) X ( l +
> PmaA N P ) x ( l - j ^ )
( 1)
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-2 1 -
w here
P max ( L a b )
is the m easured m axim um pow er at STC o f each m odule in the sta bilized state;
/'m a x (NP)
is the m inim um rated n am eplate pow er o f each m odule w ith o u t tolerances;
'"1
is the m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty in % o f lab ora tory fo r Pmax (expanded
com bined u nce rta inty (k=2), ISO /IEC G uide 98-3); the fa c to r 1,65/2 is used to
co nve rt the co nfid en ce intervals from tw o -side d to o ne-sided at 95 % level o f
co nfid en ce; m shall include a co m p on en t from sp ectral m ism atch, based either
on m easured sp ectral response o r the w o rst-ca se p o s s ib ility fo r a given
te chn olo gy type; m-j shall be less than stated in the te ch n o lo g y s p e c ific parts o f
this standards series;
^
is the m a n u fa ctu re r’s rated low er to leran ce in % fo r P m a x .
F o r,Pmax(Lab) the fo llo w in g crite rio n shall apply:
Pn a x { l a b ) x ( l + ^
> Pm a x ( N P )
(2 )
w here
Pmax(Lab)
is the a rith m e tic average o f the m easured m axim um STC pow er o f the m odules
in sta b ilize d co ndition.
For m ultiple bins o f pow er classe s th is fo rm u la has to be applied to each pow er class under
inve stiga tion .
NOTE Form ula (2) is not intended fo r pow er ve rifica tio n o f a batch in m ass production as syste m a tic diffe re n ce s
betw een d iffe re n t labs and reference d e vice s are u n a voidable. In such cases, form ula (1), w hich inclu d e s the
releva n t unce rta in tie s, be tter d e scribes the app lica tio n to average values.
VOC ve rifica tio n :
Each ind ivid ua l m odule shall m eet the fo llo w in g criterion :
Ifc O a b ) x ( l +
< IU N P ) x (
w here
vo c (Lab)
is the m easured m axim um ^ o c o f each m odule in the sta bilized state;
»OC (N P )
is the m axim um rated n am eplate v o c o f each m odule w ith o u t to leran ces;
m2
is the m easurem ent u n ce rta in ty in % of la b o ra to ry fo r VO C ’ (expanded
u nce rta inty (k=2), IS O /IE C G uide 98-3); the fa c to r 1,65/2 is used to co nve rt the
co nfid en ce intervals from tw o-sided to o ne-sided at 95 % level o f co nfid en ce;
t2
is the m a n u fa ctu re r’s rated u pper to le ra n ce in % fo r ^oc-
If Voc cannot be m easured due to m od ule -integ ra te d e le ctro n ics (such as M O S FE Ts), the
m odule is exem pt from the Voc v e rific a tio n req uirem en t. T his e xem ption shall be noted in the
te st report. Voc shall not be d eterm ined by any m eans o the r than d ire c t m easurem ent, such as
e xtra po latio n.
/ s c ve rifica tio n :
-2 2 -
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
Each ind ivid ua l m odule shall m eet the fo llo w in g criterion :
/sc(L a b ) x
(4)
w here
^sc (Lab)
is the m easured m axim um I s c o f each m odule in the sta bilized state;
/ S C (NP)
is the m axim um rated n am eplate I s c o f each m odule w ith o u t to leran ces:
is the m ea surem e nt u n ce rta in ty in % o f la b o ra to ry fo r I s c \ (expanded
u nce rta inty (k=2), IS O /IE C G uide 98-3); the fa c to r 1,65/2 is used to co nve rt the
co nfid en ce intervals from tw o-sided to o ne-sided at 95 % level o f co nfid en ce:
is the m a n u fa ctu re r’s rated u pper to le ra n ce in % fo r I s c .
If / sc ca nn ot be m easured due to m od ule -integ ra te d e le c tro n ic s (such as M O S FE Ts), the
m odule is e xem pt from the / sc ve rific a tio n req uirem en t. This e xem ption shall be noted in the
te st report. / sc shall not be d eterm ined by any m eans o the r than d ire c t m easurem ent, such as
extra po latio n.
/\nax ve rifica tio n o f low est pow er class:
Each individ ua l m odule th a t is used fo r the q u a lific a tio n o f low end pow er classe s shall m eet,
in addition to the pre vio u s stated c rite ria fo r P max, Vo c and / s c , the fo llo w in g crite rio n relating
to an u pper pow er lim it:
(5)
w here
Pmax4 (N p ) is the m axim um rated n am eplate pow er o f each low est pow er class m odule, w itho ut
to leran ces;
is the m a n u fa ctu re r’s rated upper to leran ce in % fo r Pmax4(NP). i A is selected
su bject to the sam e rules as fo r / 1 (see Figure 3), e xcep t that if the to le ra n ce is
asym m etric a bout / ,maX4 (NP)> the to le ra n ce refe rring to the high pow er lim it shall be
utilized.
The last crite rio n e nsures th a t the m odules o f the low est pow er class stay w ithin the upper
to leran ce o f that class. The last crite rio n is only a pp lica ble fo r the q u a lific a tio n o f the low est
pow er class. It ensures th a t a m odule m an ufa ctu re r can m ake m odules in the low est pow er
class th a t are free from m ajor fla w s, and th us the low est pow er class is not used as a
re p o sito ry fo r dam aged m odules a fte r q u a lific a tio n is obta ine d using se verely underrated
m odules.
For bifacial m odules, Pmax, / sc, and Voc shall each be m easured at the tw o irra dian ces
specified in 5.1. T he G ate No. 1 c rite ria fo r Pmax, / sc, and Voc shall be a pplied at both
irra dian ces.
A syste m a tic variatio n to e ith e r higher or low er output pow er or b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n t w ill be
stated in the final report.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
7.2.3
-
23-
M axim um p o w er d eg rad atio n d u ring typ e app ro val testing —> G ate No. 2
At the end o f each te st sequence or fo r sequence B a fte r bypass diode test, the m axim um
pow er o u tp u t drop o f each m odule Pmax (La b_ G a teN o . 2) shall be less than 5 %, referenced
to the m od ule ’s initia l m easured o u tp u t pow er Pmax (Lab_G ateN o. 1). Each te st sam ple shall
m eet the fo llo w in g crite rio n :
Pmax(L a b _ G a te N o .2 ) > 0,95 X Pmax (L a b .G a te N o . 1 ) • ( l - ^ )
(6 )
The re p ro d u cib ility /• in % shall be d eterm ined fo r Pmax and shall be used in the fo rm u la . The
re p ro d u cib ility shall be less than o r equal to th a t stated in the te ch n o lo g y s p e c ific parts o f this
standards series.
The re p ro d u cib ility /• is ve rified by com paring the control m od ule (s) from sequence A a fte r
in itia l s ta b iliza tio n (beginning o f the te st) and a fte r fin a l s ta b iliz a tio n (end o f tests from
sequence B to E). The second te st shall be perform ed a fte r com p le tin g all tests. T he fo llo w in g
applies:
a)
A ll m odules from se qu en ces B (a fte r MQT 18.1), C, D and E are m easured to g e th e r w ith
one control m odule from S equence A.
b)
If a) ca nn ot be used due to te st flow (d iffe re n t co m p le tio n tim e o f sequence or custom er
requests re strictio n s) the fo llo w in g applies:
For each sequence B (a fte r MQT 18.1), C, D and E one co n tro l m odule from sequence A
shall be defined. The control m odule is sta bilized and m easured to g e th e r w ith the m odules
from the a p p lica b le sequence B (a fte r MQT 18.1), C, D o r E. For each d eterm ined value r
the re q u ire m e n t fo r r shall be fu lfille d .
The re p ro d u cib ility param eter r is not equal to the total m easurem ent u nce rta inty of
MQT 06.1. It is a dvisab le th a t the sam e so la r s im u la to r is used fo r Pmax (Lab_G ate No. 1) and
Pmax (Lab_G ate No. 2).
If the m easured /- exceeds the te chn olo gy s p e c ific lim it fo r the control m odule the lab ora tory
needs to check w ith its own internal refe ren ce m od ule (s) w h e th e r the te st e qu ip m en t is fa ulty,
o r the m odule under te st is resp on sible fo r the poor re p ro d u cib ility, o r it is not in a sta ble state
a fte r a pplied procedure MQT 19.1. If all checks confirm the m easurem ent e qu ip m e n t is
p erform ing co rrectly, th is ind icate s that the co n tro l m odule has d rifte d by m ore than the
te chn olo gy sp e cific lim it. In th is case, proceed by using the te ch n o lo g y s p e c ific lim it fo r r.
For bifacial m odules, G ate No. 2 shall each be assessed only at the larg e r irra dian ce (BN PI)
specified in 5.1 g).
7.2.4
E lectrical c ircu itry
Sam ples are not perm itted to e xh ib it an o p e n -c irc u it during the tests.
7.3
V isual defects
T here is no visu a l e vidence o f a m ajor visu a l defect, as d efined in C lause 8.
7.4
E lectrical safety
a)
The insu latio n te st (M Q T 03) req uirem en ts are m et at the beginning and the end o f each
sequence.
b)
The w et leakage cu rre n t te st (M Q T 15) req uirem en ts are m et at the b eginning and the end
o f each sequence.
c)
S p ecific req uirem en ts o f the individ ua l te sts are met.
-2 4 -
8
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
Major visual defects
The purpose o f the visual insp ectio n is to d ete ct any visual defe cts th a t m ay cause a risk o f
re lia b ility loss, including pow er output.
In som e instances m ore detailed insp ectio n m ay be required to fin a lly d ecide if m ajor visual
defe cts e xist or not.
For the purpose o f design q u a lific a tio n and typ e a pproval the fo llo w in g o b se rva tio n s are
co nside red to be m ajor visual defects:
a)
B roken, cracked, or torn e xterna l surfaces.
b)
B ent o r m isaligned e xternal su rfa ces, including su pe rstra tes, su bstrates, fram es and
ju n c tio n boxes to the e xten t th a t the o pe ra tion o f the PV m odule w ould be im paired.
c)
B ubbles or d e la m in a tio n s form ing a co n tin u o u s path betw een e le c tric c irc u it and the edge
o f the m odule.
d)
If the m echanical in te g rity depends on lam ination or o th e r m eans o f adhesion, the sum o f
the area o f all b ubbles sh all not exceed 1 % o f the to ta l m odule area.
e)
E vidence o f any m olten or burned enca psu la n t, backsheet, fro n tsh e e t, diode or active PV
com ponent.
f)
Loss o f m echanical in te g rity to the e xten t th a t the insta lla tio n and ope ra tion o f the m odule
w ould be im paired.
g)
C ra cked /b ro ken ce lls w hich can rem ove m ore than 10 % o f the c e ll’s p h o to vo lta ic active
area from the e le ctrica l c irc u it o f the PV m odule.
h)
V oids in, o r visib le corrosio n o f any o f the layers o f the active (live ) c irc u itry o f the m odule
extending over m ore than 10 % o f any cell.
i)
B roken intercon ne ction s, jo in ts o r term inals.
j)
Any s h o rt-circu ite d live parts o r exposed live e le ctrica l parts.
k)
M odule m arkings (la be l) are no lon ge r attached o r the inform a tion is unreadable.
9
Report
F ollow ing type app ro val, a rep ort o f the q u a lific a tio n tests, w ith m easured perform ance
ch a ra cte ristics and d etails o f any fa ilu re s and re-te sts, shall be prepared by the te st agency.
T he re p o rt shall contain the d eta il s p e cifica tio n fo r the m odule. Each test report shall include at
least the fo llo w in g inform a tion :
a)
a title;
b)
nam e and address o f the te st la b o ra to ry and loca tion w here the tests w ere ca rried out;
c)
unique id e n tifica tio n o f the rep ort and o f each page;
d)
nam e and address o f clien t, w here app ro priate ;
e)
d e scrip tio n and id e n tifica tio n o f the item te ste d, inclu ding ind icatio n if it has been
evaluated fo r b ifa cia lity a nd /or w he th er it is has been e valuated as a fle x ib le m odule;
f)
ch a ra cte riza tio n and co nd itio n o f the te st item;
g)
date o f rece ip t o f te st item and date(s) o f te st, w here app ro priate ;
h)
id e n tifica tio n o f te st m ethods used;
i)
refe ren ce to sam pling procedure, w here relevant;
j)
any d eviatio ns from , a dd itio ns to, o r e xclu sio n s from , the te s t m ethod and any o the r
inform a tion releva n t to sp e cific tests, such as e nviro n m e nta l co nd itio ns, o r the irra diatio n
dose in kW h/m 2 a t w hich sta b ility is reached;
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
k)
I)
-
25-
m easurem ents, e xam in a tion s and derived resu lts supported by ta ble s, graphs, sketches
and p ho tog rap hs as a pp ro priate including:
-
te m p era ture co e fficie n ts o f s h o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t, o p e n -c irc u it vo ltag e and peak power,
-
pow er at STC and low irra dian ce,
-
b ifa c ia lity co e fficie n ts at STC and low irra dian ce (for b ifacial m odules),
-
the m axim um shaded ce ll te m p era ture observed d urin g the h o t-sp o t e nd uran ce test,
-
spectrum o f the lam p used fo r the UV p re con ditio nin g test,
-
m ounting m ethod(s) utilized in the s ta tic m echanical load test,
-
the p o sitive /n e g a tive te st loads and the sa fety fa c to r ym used in the s ta tic m echanical
load test,
-
hail ball d ia m e te r and ve lo c ity used in the hail te st,
-
m axim um pow er loss observed a fte r all o f the tests,
-
fo r fle x ib le m odules, the d ia m e te r o f the cylin d e r o v e r w hich the m odule w as bent
during p erform an ce o f MQT 22, and
-
co nd itio ns o f pote ntia l induced d e g ra da tion (PID ) te st (M Q T 21) including applied rated
system vo ltag e, p o la ritie s, and m ounting co nfig uratio n;
-
choice o f te st m ethod w here procedures allo w m ore than one option (e.g. M ethod
B in M QT 18.2; fin a l s ta b iliz a tio n m ethod in M QT 19.2, etc.)
-
if o p e n -circu it vo ltag e, sh o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t, or associated te m p era ture c o e fficie n ts
ca nn ot be m easured due to m od ule -integ ra te d e le ctron ics, these q ua n titie s shall be
reported as "n o t m easurable due to m odule -integ ra te d e le ctro n ics." A n y resu ltin g
e xem ptio ns from G ate 1 req uirem en ts on / sc or Voc shall also be noted.
A or
any fa ilu re s observed and any retests perform ed;
m) a rep re se n ta tio n o f the m arkings o f the m odule type inclu ding m a n u fa ctu re r's pow er
to leran ces;
n)
the te st lab nam e and date, fo r each co m p on en t q u a lific a tio n required in T ab le 1;
o)
a su m m ary o f results from all pass criteria defined in C lause 7 in abso lu te and relative
change. If te n d e n cie s to e ith e r higher o r low er values are observed th is has to be included
in the report. The used s ta b iliz a tio n procedure (irrad ia n ce, te m p era ture , tim e) needs to be
stated in d eta il;
p)
a sta te m e n t o f the estim ated u nce rta inty o f the test results (w here rele va n t); state the
re p ro d u cib ility r from the co ntrol m odule th a t is used fo r G ate No. 2.
q)
a sign ature and title, or e q u iva le n t id e n tifica tio n o f the person(s) a ccepting re s p o n s ib ility
fo r the co nte nt o f the report, and the date o f issue;
r)
w here relevant, a sta te m e nt to the effe ct th a t the results relate only to the item s tested;
s)
a sta te m e n t th a t the rep ort sh all not be reproduced e xcep t in fu ll, w ith o u t the w ritten
a pproval o f the laboratory.
10 Modifications
C hanges in m aterial se le ctio n , co m p on en ts and m an ufa ctu rin g
q u a lifica tio n o f the m odified product.
p rocess can im p act the
R etesting shall be perform ed according to IEC TS 62915. The recom m ended te s t sequences
have been selected to id e n tify adverse changes to the m odified product.
D uring rete sting , tests th a t are perform ed on re p re se n ta tive sa m p le s do not need to be
repeated if the only change to a pro du ct is one o f size, and the change in pro du ct size still
a llow s use o f the sam e rep re sen ta tive sam ple size a lrea d y tested.
-2 6 -
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
T he num ber o f sa m p le s to be included in the rete sting program and the pass/fail c rite ria are to
be taken from the releva n t cla u se s/su b cla u se s o f this docum ent.
11 Test flow and procedures
For design q u a lifica tio n and typ e a pproval the fo llo w in g te s t flo w and procedures apply.
T able 3 sum m arizes the d iffe re n t te sts. The fu ll te s t flo w is given in Figure 2. A d e scrip tio n o f
the te sts and te st procedures is given in IEC 6 1 2 15 -2 :2 02 1. T e c h n o lo g y -re le v a n t d ifferen ce s
are described in the resp ective te ch n o lo g y s p e c ific part o f th is sta nd ard s series.
Table 3 - S um m ary o f test levels
Test
Subclause in
IEC 612152:2021
T itle
Test conditions
MQT 01
4.1
V isual inspection
See lis t o f m ajor visu a l defects in C lause 8
MQT 02
4.2
M axim um power
determ ination
See IEC 60904-1 fo r m onofacial m odules and
IEC TS 60904-1-2 for b ifacial m odules
MQT 03
4.3
Insulation test
T est le ve ls vary betw een 500 V m inim um and
1,35 x (2000 + 4 x Fsys) m axim um depending on system
voltage, m odule class, and presence o f cem ented jo in ts.
See MQT 03 procedure fo r fu rth e r detail.
MQT 04
4.4
M easurem ent of
te m p e ra tu re co e fficie n ts
MQT
06.1
4.6
P erform ance at STC
See IEC 60891
See IEC 60904-10 fo r guidance
Cell tem perature o f 25 °C at STC
Irradiance: 1 000 W /m 2 (and BNPI, fo r b ifacial m odules)
with IEC 60904-3 reference so la r sp e ctra l irradiance
distribu tio n
R equirem ents see C lause 7
MQT 07
4.7
P erform ance at low
irradiance
Cell tem perature: 25 °C
Irradiance: 200 W /m 2 w ith IEC 60904-3 reference
solar spectral irra d ia n ce distribu tio n
MQT 08
4.8
O u td oo r exposure test
60 kW h/m 2 total so la r irra d ia tio n
MQT 09
4.9
H ot-spot endurance test
E xposure to irra d ia n ce in w o rst-ca se hot-sp o t co n d itio n as
per the technology sp e cific part and IEC 61215-2. For
m onofacial m odules, irradiance is 1 000 W /m 2. For b ifacial
m odules the irra d ia n ce is BSI.
MQT 10
4.10
UV p reconditioning
15 kW h/m 2 total UV irra d ia tio n in the w a ve le n g th range
from 280 nm to 400 nm, w ith 3 % to 10 % UV irradiance in
the w a velength range from 280 nm to 320 nm, at a m odule
tem perature o f 60 °C. For b ifacial m odules, exposure is
repeated on the rear side.
MQT 11
4.11
Therm al cycling test
50 (Sequence C) o r 200 (Sequence D) cycles from - 4 0 °C
to +85 °C with cu rre n t as per technology sp e cific part up to
+80 °C, w ith 5 N w eight hanging from the ju n ctio n box.
MQT 12
4.12
H um idity freeze test
10 cycles from +85 °C, 85 % RH to - 4 0 °C
MQT 13
4.13
Dam p heat test
1 000 h a t +85 °C, 85 % RH
MQT 14
4.14
Robustness of
term ination
T est o f ju n ctio n box rete n tio n and cord anchorage.
MQT 15
4.15
W et leakage current
test
T est voltage increase at a rate not exceeding 500 V /s to
500 V or the m axim um system voltage fo r the m odule,
w h ich e ve r is greater. M aintain the vo lta g e at th is level for
2 min. Solution te m p e ra tu re is (22 ± 2 ) °C.
MQT 16
4.16
S ta tic m echanical load
test
Three cycles o f uniform load sp ecified by the
m anufacturer, a pplied for 1 h to fro n t and back surfaces in
turn. M inim um test load: 2 400 Pa
MQT 17
4.17
Hail test
Ice ball im pact directed at 11 locations. Required m inim um
ice ball dia m e te r o f 25 mm and speed o f 23,0 m/s.
MQT 18
4.18
B ypass diode therm al
test
MQT 18.1: Bypass diode therm al test:
w ith circu itry co n tin uity m onitoring
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
Test
Subclause in
IEC 612152:2021
-
27-
T itle
T est conditions
1 h a t Isc and 75 °C
1 h a t 1,25 tim es I3C and 75 °C
MQT 18.2: B ypass diode fu n c tio n a lity test
At 25 °C perform voltage and cu rre n t m easurem ents
For b ifacial m odules, / sc in the co n d itio ns above is that
m easured at elevated irra d ia n ce BSI.
MQT 19
4.19
S ta b iliza tio n
Three co n se cutive o u tpu t pow er m easurem ents P i, P? and
P3 using MQT 02. STC o utput pow er is determ ined using
procedure MQT 06.1.
MQT 20
4.20
C yclic (D ynam ic)
M echanical load test
IEC TS 62782
1 000 cycles at 1 000 Pa
MQT 21
4.21
P otential induced
degradation test
IEC TS 62804-1
MQT 22
4.22
Bending te st - for
fle xib le m odules only
25 cycle s rolled up (w ith ou t dam age) around a cylin d e r
with a dia m e te r sp ecified by the m odule m a n u fa ctu re r over
which the fle xib le m odules can be bent
+85 °C, 85 % RH at m axim um system voltage for 96 h
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-2 8 -
A n n ex A
(inform ative)
C h anges from previous ed itio n
A.1
General
This annex is included w ith e dition 2 o f the IEC 61215 series to b ette r e xplain the pro je ct
te a m ’s reasoning in d eve lo pin g som e o f the chan ge s m ade since e dition 1. This annex is
inform a tive, d escrib ing the deve lo pm e nt h istory and ratio na le. This annex does not m odify or
com p le te any o f the te st procedures found in the IEC 61215 series.
The fo llo w in g changes are discu ssed in this annex:
•
P rocedures fo r b ifa cia l m odules
•
Use o f re p re se n ta tive sam ples
•
A d ditio n o f d yna m ic m echanical load test
•
A d ditio n o f te st fo r pote ntia l induced degradation
•
S im u la to r requirem ents
•
R eferences to retest guide lin e s
•
W e igh t on ju n ctio n boxes
•
C orrectio n to m o n o lith ica lly-in te g ra te d h ot-spo t e ndurance te st
•
N um ber o f m odules in sequence
•
R em oval o f nom inal m odule ope ra ting te m p era ture (N M O T)
•
V ery low cu rre n ts during th in -film tests
•
L im it bypass diode te sting to th re e diodes
•
R evert the insu latio n te st to 2005 version
•
Bending test
•
S ta b iliza tio n option fo r boron oxygen LID (M Q T 19.3)
To crea te edition 2, a n um ber of m inor c o rre ctio n s and c la rific a tio n s to the edition 1 w ording
w ere also m ade. These m inor changes are not discu ssed in this annex.
A.2
Procedures for bifacial modules
The IEC 61215 new e dition includes te xt related to b ifacial
m odules, w hereas edition 1 did
not. The new edition includes several instru ction s related to bifacial m odules:
•
P rocedures
fo r
m easuring
IEC TS 60904-1-2.
bifacial
m odules
are
included
via re fe ren ces
•
W here te st levels need to be adjusted fo r bifacial m odules due
cu rren ts during o pe ra tion , th ese increased values are sp ecified.
•
A d ditio na l rep orting req uirem en ts (e.g. b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n ts ) are described.
•
T ests th a t m ay be om itted because referenced standards have not yet
a ccou nt fo r b ifa cia lity are noted.
to
to
p o te n tia lly higher
been m odified to
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-
29-
Q u a lifica tio n o f bifacial m odules requires m ea surem e nt o f several q ua n titie s beyond those
required fo r m on ofa cial m odules. The s h o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n t ç>)sc, the opencircu it vo ltag e b ifa cia lity co e fficie n t (Pyoc and the m axim um pow er b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n t <Ppmax
shall be listed on the nam eplate, as per IEC 612 15 -1 :2 02 1, 5.1j). T he se c o e ffic ie n ts are
m easured as part o f IEC 6 1215-2:2021. M QT 6.1. A ny s ig n ific a n t d eviatio n betw een the
m easured and listed va lu es shall be noted in the te s t report, as per IEC 612 15 -1 :2 02 1, 7.2.2.
M QT 07, p erform an ce at low irra dian ce, a lso req uires c a lc u la tio n o f the b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n ts
at low irradiance.
Q u a lifica tio n o f b ifacial m odules requires p erform an ce m easurem ent (M Q T 06.1) at th re e
irra dian ces. These irra dian ces are
•
1 000 W /m 2 (the irra dian ce at STC, as defined in IEC TS 61836),
•
co n d itio n s e qu iva len t to 1 000 W /m 2 on the fro n t side and 135 W /m 2 on the back side
(BN PI, as d efined in 3.11), and
•
co nd itio ns e q u iva le n t to 1 000 W /m 2 on the fro n t side and 300 W /m 2 on the back side
(BSI, as d efined in 3.12).
BNPI and BSI m ay be a pplied in any m ethod allow ed by IEC TS 60904-1-2, such as sin g le ­
side illu m in atio n at e q u iva le n t irra dian ce, or d ou b le -sid e illu m in atio n. If s in g le -s id e illu m in atio n
is utilized, the sim u la to r setting depends on the m odule b ifa c ia lity through the e qu iva len t
irra dian ce defined in 609 04 -1 -2 . E xtra po latio n o f p erform an ce p aram eters at BSI from the
values o f 1 000 W /m 2 on fro n t and 300 W /m 2 on back is possible if the fla s h e r is unable to
achieve high enough irra dian ce fo r BSI.
BNPI is used fo r n am eplate ve rific a tio n . 135 W /m 2 re a r irradiance is chosen fo r BNPI based
on se veral p ublished stu die s that find, with typical m odule spacing and ligh t-co lored soil, the
rea r-side irra dian ce is in the range o f 100-150 W /m 2 w hen 1 000 W /m 2 is incid en t on the fron t
sid e .[2] [3] [4] [5] [6] BNPI thus conveys an a pp ro xim a tion o f typ ical pow er gain due to
b ifaciality.
BSI is used to m easure q ua n titie s th a t d ete rm ine applied stress co nd itio ns. A 300 W /m 2 rear
irra dian ce in BSI is used to rep re sen t w o rs t case (m ost s tre s s fu l) c o n d itio n s w ith a re fle ctive
(0,5 a lb ed o) ground co ver.[7 ] To ensure safe products, th is w orst case co nd itio n is used to set
the stress levels.
For bifacial m odules, m easurem ents at both STC and BNPI are used fo r G ate No. 1, w hile
only m easurem ents a t BNPI are utilize d fo r and G ate No. 2 c rite ria . For final G ate No. 2
m easurem ents (po st stre ss,) STC m easurem ent and re -eva lua tion o f b ifa c ia lity c o e fficie n ts
are not required, in o rd er to keep cost o f q ua lifyin g b ifacial m odules reason ab le. Instead,
Gate No. 2 is e valua te d only at the m ore s trin g e n t co nd itio n, BNPI, w here possible series
resista nce and o th e r fill fa c to r losses induced by stress are expected to be large st. By not
requiring STC m easurem ent or re -eva lua tion o f the b ifa c ia lity c o e ffic ie n ts fo r the fin a l Gate
No. 2 m easurem ent, tim e-con sum ing (e xp en sive) steps o f re -c a lib ra tio n sim u lato rs at m ultiple
in te n sitie s, only to obtain a less strin g e n t test, is avoide d. R eq uirem en ts fo r m easurem ent
in te n sitie s
and
evalua tion
o f b ifa c ia lity
c o e ffic ie n ts
req uirem en ts
are
stated
in
IEC 612 15 -1 :2 02 1, 7.2.2 and 7.2.3, and in IEC 6 1 2 15 -2 :2 02 1, 4 .6.3 "M easuring at STC (M Q T
06.1)".
For several te sts, stress levels are increased from va lu es based on one-sun fro n t side
illu m in atio n, in o rd er to a ccou nt fo r p o te n tia lly h ig he r cu rren ts during bifacial m odule
o pe ra tion w ith backside illu m in atio n.
•
The te st cu rre n t is increased fo r the bypass diode th erm al te st M QT 18.1. For b ifacial
m odules, MQT 18.1 sp e cifie s 1,25 tim es the m odule s h o rt-c irc u it cu rre n t a t the elevated
irra dian ce BSI. Use o f th is h ig h e r c u rre n t is re q u ire d in IEC 6 1 2 1 5 -2 :2 0 2 1 ,4 .1 8 .1 .4b).
•
The te st cu rre n t is a lso increased in the sam e m anner fo r the bypass diode fu n c tio n a lity
te st MQT 18.2, as sp ecified in IEC 6 1 2 1 5 -2 :2 0 2 1 ,4 .1 8 .2 .3 .2 b).
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
•
In MQT 11 the te ch n o lo g y-sp e c ific cu rre n t to be applied during th erm al cycling is larger for
b ifacial m odules. IEC 61215-1-1:2021 sp e cifie s th a t the te ch n o lo g y s p e c ific c u rre n t w hich
needs to be a pplied a ccordin g to te st M QT 11 o f IEC 612 15 -2 :2 02 1, shall be equal to the
peak pow er cu rren t at the elevated irra d ia n ce BSI.
•
In MQT 09, d e te rm in a tio n o f the ce ll sh ad in g p e rc e n t and the p ro lo n ge d e xpo sure are
p erform ed at the ele vated irra dian ce BSI. If d ou b le -sid e illu m in atio n is used to produce
BSI, both the back and the fro n t o f the cell are shaded in the sam e w ay. D uring cell
se le ctio n , any cell th a t is p erm a ne ntly shaded by a m odule fe ature (such as the ju n ctio n
box) is added to the list o f selected cells.
A .3
Use of representative samples
A t present, there are p roducts intended to be q ua lifie d via IEC 61215, th a t are m uch larger
(e.g. 6 m in one d im en sion ) than ty p ic a l te st e quipm ent. R equiring a te st lab to obtain custom
te st e quipm ent fo r one pro du ct is p ro h ib itiv e ly expe nsive and w ould crea te an u n fa ir b a rrie r to
q u a lifica tio n . Thus, rep re sen ta tive sam ples m ay be used fo r a pplying stress and evalua ting
G ate No. 2 on ve ry large m odules. A re p re se n ta tive sam ple is one th a t includes all the
com ponents o f the m odule, e xcep t som e repeated parts, and is th e re fo re s m a lle r than the
actual product. A fu ll-size d sam ple is s till required fo r n am eplate v e rific a tio n (G ate No. 1).
A re p re se n ta tive sam ple m ay be utilized if a m odule is "ve ry la rg e ," as d efined in
IEC 612 15 -1 :2 02 1. A "ve ry large" m odule is taken to be anyth ing th a t w ill not fit on the largest
co m m e rcia lly-a va ila b le AA A sim u lato r, o r in the n ecessary e nviro n m e nta l cham bers. The
large st c o m m e rcia lly-a va ila b le A A A s im u la to rs seldom exceed d im en sion s o f 2,6 m * 2,1 m. A
survey o f te st labs by pro je ct team m em bers show ed th a t e nviro n m e nta l ch am be r sizes
cu rre n tly im pose a size lim it fo r IEC 61215 q u a lific a tio n in va riou s te s t labs ranging from
2.2 m to 2,4 m in m odule length, and 1,2 to 1,9 m in m odule w idth. The p ro je ct team decided
th a t defin in g a ve ry large m odule as 2,2 m * 1,5 m is a reason ab le com prom ise betw een not
providing a b a rrie r to ce rtifica tio n fo r large products, but e ncouraging c e rtific a tio n on fu ll-s iz e
p roducts when possible. By th is d e fin itio n , a m odule is considered ve ry large if it exceeds
2.2 m in any d im en sion , or exceeds 1,5 m in both dim ensions.
Lim its are placed on how m uch one m ay reduce the d im en sion s o f a ve ry large m odule in
m aking re p re se n ta tive m odules fo r q u a lific a tio n testing. The reduced d im e n sio n (s) shall be no
less than one h a lf the d im en sion s that defin e a very large m odule. In o th e r w ords, when
reducing the sh o rte r dim ension, the rep re sen ta tive sam ple shall be at least 0,75 m w ide. In
reducing the lon ge r d im en sion , the re p re se n ta tive sam ple shall be at least 1,1 m long. Thus, a
m an ufa ctu re r is not allow ed to use, fo r exam ple, a one -ce ll m in i-m od u le fo r q u a lifica tio n
te sting . The use and d im en sion s o f rep re sen ta tive sam ples shall be noted in the te st report.
If rep re sen ta tive sam ples are utilize d in S equence E, then one extra m odule, fu ll-s iz e d , is
required, and sh all be su bjected only to MQT 16 (the s ta tic load te st) and the req uirem en ts
th erein . The extra m odule is required because m echanical load on a rep re sen ta tive sam ple is
not the sam e as doing it on a fu ll-s iz e m odule. (To g ive an extrem e exam ple, a 10 m * 10 m *
5 mm glass pane m ay collapse under its own w eight, w he re a s a 1 m x 1 m * 5 mm glass pane
m ay resist the 2 400 Pa loa d in g .) H ow ever, a g eneral w ay to co n v e rt load req uirem en ts from
one sam ple size to the next, fo r all p ro du ct designs, does not e xist a t the tim e o f p ublication.
A lso, because o f space lim ita tio n s in the dam p heat cham ber, the fu ll-s iz e m odule ca n n o t be
required to undergo the entire sequence E. Thus, as a com prom ise, an extra fu ll-s iz e m odule
in sequence E to su pp le m en t the rep re sen ta tive sam ple. The fu ll-s iz e m odule w ill be
e valuated fo r s tru ctu ra l and sa fe ty fa ilu re s (e.g. broken gla ss) via the visu a l insp ectio n (M Q T
01) th a t is em bedded in MQT 16. If a d esign is s u sce p tib le to M QT 16 fa ilu re s th a t involve DH
(for exam ple, a glu e th a t deb on ds a fte r DH), such e ffe cts are best dete cte d using the
rep re sen ta tive sam ple.
If th ere are MLT fa ilu re s th a t involve DH (for exam ple, a glue that is not strong a fte r DH), such
e ffe cts w ill be captured by the te st on the rep re sen ta tive sam ple.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
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T he p ro je ct team co nside red w h e th e r m ore th erm al cycles should be required w hen M QT 11
is perform ed on a re p re se n ta tive sam ple. It w as co nside red th a t th erm om ech an ical fa tigu e
te nd s to increase w ith sam ple size, and th e re fo re extra th erm al cycles m ight be needed to
q ua lify a fu ll-size pro du ct w hile stressing a s m a lle r rep re sen ta tive sam ple. H ow ever, fin ite
e le m e n t m odelling concluded that the cell size, not the m odule size, is the critica l dim ension
fo r th erm om ech an ical fa tigu e, and thus extra therm al cycles are not w arranted.
A.4
Addition of dynamic mechanical load test
A D ynam ic M echanical Load (D M L) te st has been added in the IEC 61215 new e dition and is
perform ed according to IEC TS 62782. The DML te st w as d eveloped to evalua te the potential
fo r cell breakage w ithin PV m od ule s[8]. The goal w as to find a load th a t w ould break ce lls that
w ere a lrea d y dam aged p rior to the stress, but w ould not break intact ce lls during the stress.
D uring e xpe rim en ts, a load level o f 1 000 Pa w as se lected. E ffect on the cells appeared to
sa turate at 1 000 cycles. These resu lts form ed the basis fo r the stress levels utilize d in
IEC TS 62782 and the IEC 61215 new edition. DML has su bse qu en tly been the su bject of
o the r s tu d ie s .[9], [10], [11] The DML te st is intended to d ete ct cell dam age th a t is inherent in
processing (such as a ta bb er that a pplies too m uch p ressure and cracks ce lls during m odule
assem bly). The DML te st is not intended to intro du ce new cracks into the cells, nor to
m easure su sce p tib ility o f the m odule to m ish an d lin g, abuse, o r extrem e w eather.
Several p ub lica tion s (e.g. [12], [13]) have noted th a t cracking ce lls in a m odule, then applying
e ithe r DML or therm al cycles, can lead to pow er loss. H ow ever, th ere are several reasons to
be ca utio us w hen co nside rin g a pplying DML o r therm al cyclin g a fte r m echanical stress fo r this
q u a lifica tio n standard:
•
Not all m odules w ill e xpe rie nce extrem e w e a th e r or m ish an d lin g. Q u a lifica tio n te sting that
te sts fo r p erform an ce rete ntio n under these circu m sta n ce s m ay lead to co stly overdesign.
•
T here is not ye t docum ented field co rre la tio n to dete rm ine over w hat tim e period pow er
loss from m ech an ically-cracke d cells occurs. Early studies how long it takes cracks to
open up, and th e re fo re (even roughly) w hat tim e period is releva n t fo r the sequence: hail
te st + DML o r TC. Som e p ublished studies are underw ay, but have n ’t seen cracks fu rthe r
a ffe ct pow er in the firs t 1 to 2 years. [14], [15]
•
For people w ho ju s t w a n t to know re la tive p erform an ce w ith o u t req uirin g rela tio n sh ip to
field perform ance, sta tic load + DML is in IEC TS 63209-1 fo r relative com parison.
•
It is recom m ended to firs t deve lo p and gain expe rie nce w ith a TS related to hailresista nce , m odule handling, and related p erform an ce losses. Such a docu m e nt should
c o n sid e r th a t th erm al cycles m ight be m ore effe ctive than DML.
A .5
Addition of test for potential induced degradation
P otential induced degra da tion (PID ) has been observed to cause pow er o utp ut d e g ra da tion in
som e fie ld ed m odules. E xam ples o f such reports can be found in the lite ra tu re .[16], [17], [18],
[19], [20] Thus, an accelera ted te st to screen fo r PID s u s c e p tib ility has been added in
e dition 2 o f the IEC 61215 series, as M QT 21.
The PID te st, MQT 21, is perform ed in parallel w ith o th e r te sts, in a new S equence F.
S equence F requires tw o m odules per insta lla tio n p olarity allow ed by the m anufacturer. If only
one in sta lla tio n p o la rity is allow ed, only tw o m odules rece ive PID stress. H ow ever, all fo u r
m odules are su bjected to G ate No. 1 v e rific a tio n , in o rd er to keep G ate No. 1 sta tistics
ind ependent o f the n um ber o f allow ed insta lla tio n polarities.
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T he te st pro ced ure fo r M QT 21 is based on the p re vio u sly p ublished IEC TS 62804-1. The
85 °C / 85 % RH / 96 h stress ("8 5 /8 5 /9 6 ") stress utilize d in IEC 61215 e dition 2 is one o f
th re e stress level o ptio ns in IEC TS 62804-1. N um erous a ccelera ted te st studies preceded the
d e ve lo pm e nt o f IEC TS 62804-1. PID has been studied to the e xten t th a t review s o f PID,
including e xp e rim e n ta l dep en de ncie s, d erived a ccelera tion , and u nderlying m echanism s, can
be found in the lite ra tu re .[21], [22] Literatu re reports va ry regarding a ccelera tion factors.
E q u iva le n t o utd oo r exposure fo r the 85/8 5/96 stress utilize d in IEC 61215 edition 2 has been
e stim ated by d iffe re n t groups betw een 2 to 20 y e a rs ,[23], [24], [25], [26], [27] fo r the e ffe c t o f
a hum id clim a te (e.g. Florida, USA) on a cry s ta llin e Si m odule. The d iffe re n ce s in the
lite ra tu re rep orts m ay re fle ct a need fo r u tiliza tio n o f d iffe re n t physical m odels in som e
studies, e xpe rim en tal unce rta inty, and d iffe re n t b eh a vio r am ong the p roducts tested.
A ll p ro du cts (m odules based on cry s ta llin e Si ce lls, or thin film ce lls) are su bjected to the
sam e stress co nd itio ns when e xecu ting MQT 21. The sam e stress co nd itio ns are applied even
though it is likely th a t a ccelera tion fa cto rs d iffe r from one product to the next, p a rtic u la rly for
thin film m odules, w here the u nderlying physical m echanism fo r PID is d iffe re n t than th a t in xSi m odules. It is e stim ated th a t the a ccelera tion fa cto rs fo r thin film m odules are s u b s ta n tia lly
sm aller than th a t o f typ ica l c-S i m o d u le s .[28], [29], [30] The m eth od o lo gy o f defin in g stress
levels th a t are e m p irica lly observed to separate fa ile d ve rsu s su cce ssfu l fielded products,
then a pplying these co n d itio n s to all m odules, is rooted in the JPL block buy s tu d y ,[31] w hich
form ed the basis fo r several o f the IEC 61215 se ries stress tests. A few sentences e x p lic itly
stating the m eth od o lo gy of the IEC 61215 se ries (con stan t stress co nd itio ns across pro du cts)
w ere added to the scope.
The 85 °C / 85 % RH / 96 h level is pro ba bly m ore stressful (in term s o f years o f e qu iva len t
e xpo sure) than som e o th e r M Q T ’s, fo r c-S i in m ost use e nviro n m e nts. H ow ever, this re la tive ly
harsh co ndition w as se lected because:
•
Data show thin film m odules need a h ig he r a ccelera ted stress level than Si m odules to
reproduce e a rly -life PID failures.
•
Prior to the inclusion o f a PID te st in IEC 61215, several m ajor m odule m an ufa ctu re rs had
a lrea d y selected the 85 °C / 85 % RH / 96 h stress level fo r interna l q u a lifica tio n
program s.
•
Use o f a lig h t soak m ay lead to som e pow er recovery, th erefore ju s tify in g increasing the
stress level.
•
Increased use o f m odules in p o te n tia lly harsh P ID -prone e nviro n m e nts, such as very rainy
clim a tes, m ay w arran t a h arshe r test.
The w ay in w hich m odules are m ounted has been observed to a ffe c t P ID .[3 2 ]’ [33] Thus,
during the ch am be r te st in IEC 61215 (and IEC TS 6 28 04 -1 ), on req ue st by the m anufacturer,
m odules m ight be m ounted as described in the in s ta lla tio n m anual during te sting , if the
m an ufa ctu re r sta te s th a t PID resista nce is achieved via m ounting m ethod.
PID stress on CIGS m ay be applied w ith a m odest forw ard vo ltag e bias a pplied across the
internal circu it. These are the sam e co nd itio ns approved fo r the dam p heat te st (M Q T 13) in
IEC 6 1 2 1 5 -1 -4 :2 02 1. The vo ltag e bias p revents e ffe cts th a t do not o ccur when stress is
applied under fie ld -re p re s e n ta tiv e illu m in atio n.
A w et leakage cu rre n t te st (M Q T 15) is part o f the final m easurem ents w ith in MQT 21. This
w et leakage cu rre n t te st is to be perform ed w ithin 8 hours o f the end o f the PID stress, as in
IEC TS 62804-1. The inclusion o f the test, w ith a tim e lim it, is m otivated by the increa se in
leakage cu rre n t seen in som e m odules during in-situ m onitoring, and m ay have a tim e scale
fo r re ve rs ib ility th a t is sim ila r to the PID.
A fin a l sta b iliza tio n , M QT 19.2, is perform ed p rior to gate 2 on all m odules th a t have been
su bjected to PID stress. The co nd itio ns fo r th is fin a l s ta b iliz a tio n are described in the
te ch n o lo g y-sp e cific parts (IEC 612 15 -1 -x).
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
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For crysta llin e Si m odules, the fin a l s ta b iliz a tio n is a sh ort lig h t soak (2,0 kW h/m 2) m eant to
reverse the e ffects o f P ID -p olarizatio n, w hich results from the m ovem ent o f ch arge w ithin the
m o d u le ,[34] as opposed to P ID -shunting (P ID -s), w hich results from m ovem ent o f Na w ithin
the m odule, a slow e r process. T ests on som e m odules show th a t P ID -p olarizatio n (P ID -p)
does not occur w hen PID stress is applied w ith fie ld -re p re s e n ta tiv e illu m in a tio n ,[35] and thus
should not be allow ed to cause design q u a lific a tio n fa ilu re w hen a dm in iste ring a dark PID
stress te st. UV has been show n to be im p orta nt in reversing P ID -p .[36] Thus, the class CCC
solar listed as required a pp aratus in MQT 19.2 shall fu lfill the class C sp ectral requirem ents
o ver at least the sh ort-w a vele ng th portion o f the e xte n d e d w ave len gth range d escrib e d in
IEC 60904-9, fo r sta b iliza tio n s perform ed a fte r PID te sting . For b ifa cia l m odules, light is
applied to the rear side d urin g th is s ta b iliz a tio n .[37] S ince a sm all am o un t of PID -s may
reverse during a sh ort light s o a k ,[38] the light soak is applied to the fro n t o f m onofacial
m odules, to obtain a co n siste n t co m p arison o f te st resu lts across m odule types.
For th in -film m odules, the fin a l s ta b iliz a tio n is included to put m e ta sta b ilitie s into the lightsoaked state and obta in an a ccurate G ate No. 2 p erform an ce m easurem ent. T hus, the th infilm light soak is perform ed in nearly the sam e m anner as o th e r th in -film final s ta b iliz a tio n s
(M Q T 19.2). One a dd itio n a l re q uirem en t exists fo r final s ta b iliz a tio n o f th in -film m odules after
PID stress: O nce the s ta b iliza tio n crite rio n is met, the light soak shall be te rm ina te d w ith in two
irra d ia tio n intervals (as defined in the te c h n o lo g y -s p e c ific parts o f M QT 19). T his tim e lim it is
included to prevent a tte m p ts to reverse Na m ig ratio n w ith e xtre m e ly long light soaks th a t are
m any tim es th a t needed to a ccou nt fo r m eta sta bility.
A fte r the co m p le tio n o f MQT 21, m odule sto ra ge co nd itio ns betw een su bse qu en t tests are
controlled. Betw een these te st steps, the m odules are to be m aintained indoors, in the dark,
and at te m p era ture s 25 °C or below . No m ore than 48 h e lapse betw een the end o f M QT 21
and the b eginning o f MQT 19.2. T here is also tim e lim it betw een MQT 19.2 and MQT 06.1: It
is e ith e r 48 h or the tim e lim it sp ecified in the te c h n o lo g y -s p e c ific s ta b iliz a tio n procedure,
w h ich e ve r is sh orter. T hese co ntrols are intended to pre ven t a tte m p ts to reve rse Na m igration
before G ate No. 2 via anom alous sto ra ge tim e and co nd itio ns.
A.6
Simulator requirements
A .6.1
G eneral
E dition 2 re vises both the sp e ctra l and u n ifo rm ity req uirem en ts fo r sim u lato rs. (N o ta tion fo r
sim u la to r cla s s ific a tio n s are d efined according to IEC 60904-9. The A M 1.5 sp ectral m atch is
denoted by the firs t le tte r o f the th re e -le tte r s im u la to r c la s sifica tio n . For exam ple, a CBA
sim u la to r is ca teg orized w ith a type C spectral m atch, a typ e B spatial u niform ity, and a type A
te m p ora l sta b ility .) The revision a pp lie s to s im u la to r req uirem en ts in M QT 02 (m axim um
pow er d e te rm in a tio n ), MQT 6.1 (pe rform a nce a t STC ), and MQT 07 (pe rform a nce a t low
irradiance).
IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6 allow ed th re e options fo r sim u lato rs during the m easurem ent listed above:
a)
a class BBA or b ette r sim u la to r plus a reference device o f the sam e size and cell
te ch n o lo g y as the te st sam ple,
b)
a BBA or b ette r sim u lato r, plus the sp ectral re sp o n sivity o f the m odule, plus the spectral
d istrib u tio n o f the so la r sim u lato r, and a data co rrectio n a ccordin g to IEC 60904-7, or
c)
a A A A sim u lato r. Several changes have been m ade to these requirem ents:
•
T ype A spatial u n ifo rm ity is required.
•
A sim u la to r w ith typ e C o r b ette r sp ectral class m ay be utilized.
•
T here are m ore p o ssib ilitie s fo r how one obtains data to use in a sp ectral m ism atch
co rrectio n (IEC 6 0904-7). The sp e ctra l response data m ay be taken by any te st lab
th a t is accre dite d fo r th a t m easurem ent. The sam ple used to obtain the spectral
response data m ay be the te st m odule or may be a refe ren ce cell m ade w ith the sam e
bill o f m ate ria ls as the te st m odule.
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
•
It is s p e cifica lly stated th a t the co m p on en t o f u nce rta inty due to sp ectral m ism atch
shall be included w 1t the u nce rta inty used in e valua ting G ate No. 1. M axim um
allo w a ble va lu es fo r
are specified in the te c h n o lo g y -s p e c ific parts.
•
Use o f e ithe r sp ectral m ism atch co rre ctio n or a m atched refe ren ce m odule (or c e ll) is
required.
T he procedures in MQT 02 and MQT 6.1 are based on the m ost a ccurate m easurem ent
pro toco ls th a t are pra ctical w ith cu rre n t te chn olo gy. T his high level o f accuracy is a pp ro priate
fo r the n am eplate ve rifica tio n and design q u a lifica tio n o f IEC 61215. H ow ever, o the r types o f
d ocu m e nts refe r to IEC 61215 m axim um pow er d ete rm in a tio n . Such docum ents include
w arran ties, q ua lity a ssurance docum ents, and extended stress te sts. A note has been
included to rem ind users th a t less s trin g e n t req uirem en ts m ay be a pp ro priate fo r nonIEC 61215 a pp lica tio n s. The note reads: "M Q T 02 m easurem ent procedures are intended for
m inim al u nce rta inty, as perform ed by an accre dite d te sting laboratory. Lesser requirem ents,
such as use o f CAB class sim u lato rs, may be a pp ro priate fo r o the r a pp lica tio n s, such as
q u a lity co ntrol in the fa cto ry. A p p lica tio n s th a t only require re p e a ta b ility, such as com paring
m odule p erform an ce before and a fte r an extended stress, may w ish to relax spectral
m ism atch co rrectio n req uirem en ts."
A .6.2
R atio n ale fo r changes to spectral req uirem en ts
R evisions to the spectral req uirem en ts w ere m ade to lim it possible sp ectral m ism atch in a
syste m a tic m anner, w hile still a llo w in g te s t labs several pra ctical choices as to how to achieve
an a cce p ta b ly a ccurate m easurem ent.
The previous te xt o f IEC 61215 allow ed using a solar s im u la to r w ith C lass A sp ectral m atch
fo r pow er rating m ea surem e nts w ith o u t sp ectral co rre ctio n . T his option w as o rig in a lly intended
to p rovide one w ay to achieve a low sp ectral m ism atch. H ow ever, m ore recent w ork has
show n th a t req uirin g a C lass A spectrum is n e ith e r n ecessary nor s u ffic ie n t fo r low spectral
m ism a tch .[40], [41], [42], [43] In o th e r w ords, using a C lass A spectrum does not g u a ra ntee a
sm a lle r spectral m ism atch e rro r than using a C lass B or C lass C sp ectrum . In som e cases,
spectral m ism atch errors can even be larg e r fo r a C lass A spectrum com pared to
C lass C .[44], [45] The actua l spectral m ism atch e rro r depends on the p rocedures, reference
sam ples, and te st sam ples used.
T herefore, the revised te xt o f IEC 61215 has relaxed the spectral re q uirem en t to C lass C, but
includes w ording regarding procedures to reduce spectral m ism atch errors. T he w ording is
b a sica lly the sam e as IEC 60904-7: e ithe r the so la r s im u la to r irra dian ce is ca lib ra te d using a
reference sam ple having sp ectral resp on se that is sim ila r to the device u nder te st, or a fu ll
ca lcu latio n o f the sp ectral m ism atch e rro r is m ade per IEC 60904-7.
S upport fo r th is position can be found in se veral lite ra tu re studies. E xcerpts from som e of
these studies are reproduced here (with bold type added fo r em phasis):
•
...c la s s ific a tio n o f a so la r s im u la to r does not p ro vide any in fo rm atio n about
m easu rem en t e rro rs ...re la te d to p h o to vo lta ic p erform an ce m ea su re m e n ts...su ch errors
are d ep endent on the actual m easurem ent devices and p ro ced ures u s e d .[40]
•
...sp e ctral class of a solar s im u la to r is not n ec es s arily an in d ic ato r for the p recisio n
of m easu rem en t. W ith a pp ro priate refe ren ce devices and m ea surem e nt procedures also
class C sp ectral m atch yie ld s a good co m p a ra b ility fo r c-Si PV m o d u le s.[41]
•
...th e sim u la to r w ith the best spectral match (A+) need not yield the b est MMF [spectral
m ism atch fa c to r].[42]
•
No b en ch m arking of s o lar s im u lato rs is th e re fo re po ssib le based only on the spectral
m atch in fo rm a tio n .[42]
...n o t alw ays the spectrum o f h ig he r class w ould lead to the low er [sp ectra l] m ism atch factor.
[43]
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-3 5 -
It is s p e cifica lly stated th a t the co m p on en t o f u n ce rta in ty due to spectral m ism atch shall be
included in /w1t and m axim um allo w a ble values fo r m^ are sp ecified in the te c h n o lo g y -s p e c ific
parts. As stated in IEC 612 15 -1 :2 02 1, m-, is to be ca lcu late d based e ith e r on m easured
spectral response or the w o rst-ca se p o s s ib ility fo r a given te ch n o lo g y type. W o rst case
p o ss ib ilitie s can be e valuated from a co m b in a tion o f published data and the la b ’s data ba se o f
m easurem ents.
This approach provides several o ptio ns fo r te st labs unable to inve st in a m odule spectral
response system , w hile keeping u n ce rta in ty w ith in reasonable bounds via lim its on m1. A lab
m ay choose refe ren ce m odules such th a t no spectral m ism atch co rre ctio n is needed. Size
req uirem en ts on the m atched refe ren ce m odule have been rem oved. The lab m ay also
m easure cell sp ectral response, w here a refe ren ce cell w ith the sam e bill o f m ate ria ls as the
te st m odule is availab le . The lab m ay also obta in spectral response data on such a reference
cell, o r on the te st m odule, from a no the r accre dite d te st lab.
A .6.3
R ation ale fo r changes to u n ifo rm ity req uirem en ts
The change in sim u la to r u n ifo rm ity requirem ents from B to A w as m ade based on an analysis
o f u nce rta inty in pow er rating w hich includes c o n trib u tio n s from several fa cto rs including
irra dian ce n on u n ifo rm ity, cu rre n t m ism atch betw een ce lls w ith in a m odule, sp ectral m ism atch,
m odule te m p era ture , co n ta ct resistance, and the pro ced ure(s) used to c a lib ra te sim u lato r
irra dian ce. U nce rtain ty va lu es listed below (in Table A .1) are from Figure 7 o f the referenced
w o rk ,[46] using a coverage fa cto r k = 2.
Table A.1 - P ublished u n certain ty values as a fu n ctio n of s im u la to r u n ifo rm ity class
Irra d ia n c e
n o n u n ifo rm ity
A p p ro x im a te p o w e r r a tin g u n c e rta in ty d u e to a ll e ffe c ts , w h e n s im u la to r
irra d ia n c e is c a lib ra te d u s in g a re fe re n c e m o d u le ’ s...
...m a x im u m p o w e r
...s h o r t- c ir c u it c u rre n t
2 % (class A limit)
2.6 %
3.2 %
5 % (class B limit)
3.2 %
6.2 %
For m odules w ith h ig he r fill fa cto r, such as new h ig h -e ffic ie n c y Si m odules, e ffe cts o f
irra dian ce n on u n ifo rm ity m ay be g re ate r, since h ig he r fill fa c to r im p lie s th a t a change in
cu rre n t chan ge s the m odule pow er o utp ut m ore sharply. Based on th is inform a tion , the pro je ct
team decided the u nce rta intie s fo r 5 % irra dian ce n on u n ifo rm ity w ould be too large fo r som e
m easurem ents, such as the m axim um pow er d ete rm in a tio n o f G ate No. 1.
P olls o f w orking g roup 2 m em bers rep re sen ting te st labs w ere perform ed during a w orking
group 2 m eeting and d urin g a IEC 61215 new edition p ro je ct team m eeting. All such m em bers
in atte nd an ce indicated th a t they a lrea d y use sim u lato rs w ith class A u nifo rm ity.
The new e dition includes one e xcep tion to the new u nifo rm ity req uirem en t. For e valua tion of
G ate No. 2, "ve ry large " m odules (as defined in IEC 612 15 -1 :2 02 1, 3.8) m ay be m easured
w ith a class B u n ifo rm ity sim u lato r. It is recognized th a t class A u n ifo rm ity sim u lato rs larger
than 2,2 m * 1,5 m are rarely co m m ercially a vailab le a t present, and th us im posing use o f a
class A u n ifo rm ity sim u la to r on a ve ry large m odule crea tes an unfair b a rrie r to q ua lifica tio n .
A t present, only a sm all fraction o f the m arket is expected to u tilize the exem ption fo r very
large m odules. In fu tu re years, as m odule sizes and a v a ila b ility o f ve ry large sim u lato rs
evolves, the size d e fin itio n fo r a ve ry large m odule should be adjusted accordin gly.
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A .7
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
References to retest guidelines
IEC 61215 Edition 2 requires the use o f IEC TS 62915 to d ete rm ine if a rete sting is needed.
This re q uirem en t is stated as, "R e testin g shall be perform ed a ccordin g to IEC TS 62915." To
avoid any fu tu re co n tra d ictio n betw een IEC 61215-1 and IEC TS 62915, all fu rth e r d escrip tio n
o f co n d itio n s th a t m ight gen erate the need fo r rete sting have been rem oved from
IEC 6 1215-1:2021.
A .8
Weight on junction boxes
Poor adhesion o f the ju n ctio n box to the m odule has been observed in both fie ld ed m odules
and accelera ted te s ts .[47], [48], [49], [50] Thus, in e dition 2, the th erm al cycling te st (M Q T 11)
is m odified to include a 5N w eig ht hanging from the ju n c tio n box.
A .9
Correction to monolithically-integrated hot-spot endurance test
IEC 6 1215-2 E dition 2 revises a portion o f the m o n o lith ica lly-in te g ra te d (M LI) hot spot
e ndurance te st to co rre ct errors in IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6. In IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6, inco m p a tible
p rocedures fo r testing w afer-b ase d vs. MLI m odules w ere in a d ve rte n tly m ixed in som e o f the
MLI sections. M inor revision s w ere a lso m ade in places w here the procedure w as u nclea r or
im possible to perform .
T he h ot-spo t e ndurance te st (M Q T 09) is designed to dete rm ine the a b ility o f the m odule to
w ithstan d h ot-spo t heating effe cts, such as those that could be caused by m ism atched ce lls or
shadow ing. W hile th ere are te st va ria tio n s fo r d iffe re n t m odule typ es and c irc u itry , the test
has certa in co m m o n a litie s across all m odule types:
•
A w o rst-ca se shading co ndition is determ ined.
•
T his co n d itio n causes a cu rre n t near / mp (for unshaded co n d itio n s ) to flo w th ro ug h the
sh o rt-circu ite d m odule.
•
The m odule is exposed to elevated te m p era ture (50 °C ) and the w o rst-ca se shading
co nd itio n fo r at least 1 h.
•
A fte r stress, the m odule shall have no visual defects, a fu n ctio n a l I-V curve, insu latio n
resista nce m eeting the req uirem en ts o f M QT 03, and w et leakage cu rren t m eeting the
requirem ents o f M QT 15.
NOTE 1
T ests are derived from e a rlie r ed itio n s o f IEC 61215-2 and IEC 61646.
D espite these co m m on alities, som e d iffe re n ce s in te s t procedure betw een m odules containing
sing ula ted or w afer-b ase d cells and those co nta ining MLI ce lls are nece ssary fo r the follow ing
reasons:
a)
It is d iffic u lt to shade a single MLI cell re p ro du cibly, since ce lls have high a spe ct ratio
(e.g. 0,5 cm * 1 m d im en sion s), and there are refle ction s inside the g la ss th a t m ake
shading around edges not sharp. The w afer-b ase d cell procedures involve shading a
single cell.
b)
Som e MLI ce lls m ay expe rie nce a decrea se in shunt resista nce w hen s h a d e d .[51], [52]
For the w afer-b ase d m odules, shading o f individ ua l c e lls is perform ed as a w ay to se le ct
cells th a t have certa in p re -e xisting shunt resista nce s (low o r high). For MLI cells, the act
o f shading individ ua l ce lls is not like ly to screen the ce lls, but ra th e r to alter them . T hus, it
is logical to apply shading stress to MLI ce lls, but not in an a tte m p t to se le ct w hich ce lls to
test, as in the w afer-b ase d procedure.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-
37-
c)
Thin film ce lls often have a d iffe re n t nature o f reverse bias c h a ra c te ris tic s than do Si cells.
T hin -film reverse bias c h a ra c te ris tic are in m any cases not lin e a r,[5 3 ], [54], [55] or are
only line ar o ver a vo ltag e range th a t is too sm all fo r a com p arison o f sh un t resista nce s
according to the m ethod o f IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6, Figure 4. T hus, even if item s a) and b) on
th is list could be overcom e, it is s till u nlikely that one could use the m ethod o f Figure 4 to
se le ct ce lls o f h ig he st and low est shunt resistance.
d)
The Si cell m ethod a ssum es th a t shading one cell can reduce the cu rre n t g en erated by
the s h o rt-circu ite d m odule to / mp (m easured under fu ll irra d ia n ce ) or an even low er
current. H ow ever, th is red uctio n m ay not be a chieva ble by fu lly shading one MLI cell. The
d ifficu lty occurs because th ere are ty p ic a lly m any m ore MLI c e lls in a m odule, and the
cells may be m ore co nd uctive at a low er reve rse bias com pared to Si cells.
B ecause o f the d iffe re n ce s listed above, the thin film h ot-spo t te st has relied upon shading
blocks o f cells, and fin ding how m any cells shall be shaded to achieve the cu rre n t reduction
noted in the above list as d).
NOTE 2 T his m ethod o f shading blocks o f cells was u tilize d in IEC 61646:2008 (10.9) and IEC 61215-2:2016
(4.9 .5 .3 .2 . 4 .9 .5.3 .4 , and 4 .9 .5.3 .5 ).
H ow ever, som e errors w ere included in the MLI portion o f IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6 M QT 09:
•
4 .9 .5 .3 .3 (M LI, SP ca se) e rro n e o u sly called fo r the w afer-b ase d s in g le -ce ll shading
m ethod. (The sin g le -ce ll shading m ethod ca nn ot be perform ed on MLI m odules for
reasons a) to d) listed a bo ve.)
•
T hree d iffe re n t MLI se ction s describ ing how to do the hot sp ot te st on MLI SP m odules
w ere included in e dition 1, but the three d iffe re n t SP cases actua lly require the sam e
p ro ced ure. These three su bclau ses from edition 1 are 4 .9 .5 .3 .3 "C ase SP",
4 .9.5.3 .4
"C ase SP w ith ina ccessib le cell c irc u it and internal
reverse bias p ro tectio n ", and 4 .9 .5 .3 .5
"C ase SP w ith ina ccessib le cell c irc u it and no reverse bias p ro te ctio n ". In all cases, the
MLI cell c irc u it is treated as ina ccessib le , so th ere should be no d istin ctio n betw een
4 .9 .5 .3 .3 and 4 .9.5.3 .5 . Furtherm ore, in MLI products, a single e xternal bypass diode is
u tilize d . Lateral cond uctio n in the high a spect ratio MLI devices is lim ited by the
co n d u ctivity o f the tra n sp a re n t co nd uctin g thin film , so MLI p roducts do not use internal
bypass d iodes. The te st procedure is perform ed w ith the m odule s h o rt-c irc u ite d , m aking
the e xterna l bypass diode irre le v a n t to the te st procedure. (It tu rn s on only when the
m odule is in reve rse bias.) Thus, th ere is no need to d is tin g u ish betw een cases 4 .9.5.3 .3
and 4 .9.5.3 .4 .
These errors are co rrected in the new e dition o f IEC 612 15 -2 :2 02 1. S everal changes w ere
m ade to do so:
•
4 .9.5.3 .3 , 4 .9.5.3 .4 , and 4 .9 .5 .3 .5 from IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6 are com bined into a single
"C ase SP" section. Thus, in the new e dition o f IEC 6 1 2 15 -2 :2 02 1, th ere are th re e cases
fo r MLI m odules in MQT 09: S, SP, and PS. These are the sam e th re e cases form erly
utilized in IEC 61646:2008.
•
The sin g le -ce ll shading m ethod used fo r the w afer-b ase d m odules is not utilized fo r any
case in MLI m odules.
•
In som e places, m inor changes to w ordin g w ere m ade to clarify, but not m odify, the test
procedure.
M inor revision s w ere also m ade in places w here the MLI h ot-spo t e ndurance procedure w as
unclear or im possible to perform :
-
The sym bol "N" ra th e r than "P " is used to denote the n um be r o f parallel string s to avoid
co nfusion w ith pow er, w hich is also denoted by "P."
-
The accep tab le range fo r cu rren ts is now based on / mp, not Pmp. T hese two w ays o f
sp ecifying the range yield n ea rly the sam e results, and s p e cifyin g the c u rre n t is much
clea re r. IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6 w as not e x p lic it regarding how to dete rm ine the range in
tran slatin g from P to I. (F or exam ple, is the te s te r allow ed to inte rp o la te betw een points
using a p re vio u sly-m ea sured I-V cu rve ?)
38-
-
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-
The a cce p ta b le w ind ow fo r cu rre n t during extended stress is w idened by ch an ging the
low er lim it from 99 % to 95 % o f the m axim um . If the s im u la to r irra dian ce can change by
± 2 % o ver the te st (as is e xp lic itly sta te d), it is not reason ab le to ask to keep the cu rren t
w ithin a 1 % w indow . For som e m odules, it w as observed th a t shading even one cell
dropped the cu rre n t below the specified range.
-
A m inim um m ask size o f two cell w idth s is sp ecified . For reason a) d escrib e d e a rlie r in th is
section, te st re p ro d u cib ility su ffe rs if the m ask size is reduced further.
-
W hen m oving the m ask across the m odule, a m inim um n um ber o f steps is sp ecified.
-
The accep tab le irra d ia n ce range fo r cell se le ctio n w ith an optio na l s im u la to r is m odified
from "800 to 1 000 W /m 2" p re vio u sly to "800 to 1 100 W /m 2" in the new e dition . W ith th is
change, any irra dian ce produced by the required s im u la to r fo r 1 h stress (at
1 000 ± 1 0 0 W /m 2) is a lso a ccep tab le fo r cell se le ction procedures.
-
O ther sm all cla rifyin g changes to the w ording have been m ade.
A .10 Number of modules in sequence
S equence A, as defined in e ith e r IEC 612 15 -1 :2 01 6 o r IEC 6 1 2 1 5 -1 :2 0 2 1 , is co m prised o f
M QT 07 (pe rfo rm a n ce at low irra d ia n ce ) and M QT 04 (m e asu re m en t o f te m p era ture
co e fficie n ts). Tw o changes w ere m ade to sequence A to allo w it to be perform ed more
e fficie n tly, but w ith o u t losing va lu ab le inform a tion .
First, the n um ber o f m odules required fo r sequence A has been reduced from th re e in
IEC 612 15 -1 :2 01 6, to one in IEC 6 1215-1:2021. A stu dy o f te m p era ture c o e fficie n ts show ed
th a t fo r m odules o f a given ce ll te chn olo gy, one ca nn ot d istin g u ish betw een the te m p era ture
co e fficie n ts o f d iffe re n t products. For sam ple sets o f th re e to five m odules o f each product
type, the va ria b ility o f te m p era ture c o e fficie n ts w ith in each pro du ct type is as large as the
d iffe re n ce betw een the products. The v a ria b ility m ay be due e ith e r due to m easurem ent
u nce rta inty or pro du ct inco nsiste ncy. An exam ple o f data from th is study is show n in
Figure A.1. Boxes rep re sen t the v a ria b ility w ithin each pro du ct type, and the e rro r bars show
the m easurem ent u nce rta inty. As the purpose o f the IEC 61215 se ries is design q ua lifica tio n ,
not fo re ca stin g ene rg y pro du ction , it is not d e fe n sib le to req uire the m easuring o f m any
m odules in sequence A in an atte m p t to reduce the u n ce rta in ty on the d erived qua ntitie s.
F urtherm ore, d ecrea sing the num ber o f m odules in sequence A by two does not w orsen the
sta tistics on m odules passing G ate No. 1, since fo u r m odules have been added to
sequence F.
Second, it is e x p lic itly stated in e dition 2 th a t the m ea surem e nts o f sequence A m ay be
perform ed in any order, or m ay be perform ed on tw o se pa ra te m odules, if desired.
5T
mc-Si (poly)
2.
® 0,07%
CL
I
0,06%
0,05 %
LEp.jS ta:® :
0,04 %
Sample size: 3-5 modules per type
i
0,03 %
Poly #1
i
Poly #2
—i
Poly #3
i---------- 1------------ 1------------ i--------Poly #4
Poly #5
Poly #6
Poly #7
Poly #8
Poly #9
IEC
Figure A.1 - D erived tem p e ratu re c o e ffic ie n ts (a) fo r nine d iffe re n t m c-Si p ro d u cts types
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
A.11
-3 9 -
Removal of nominal module operating temperature (NMOT)
E dition 1 o f the IEC 61215 se ries (published in 2016) w as the firs t tim e th a t NM O T has been
required fo r PV m odule design q u a lific a tio n . E arlier ve rsion s o f IEC 61215 and sim ilar
sta nd ard s required only nom inal o pe ra ting cell te m p era ture (N O C T). In 2017, a n um ber o f test
lab ora tories around the w orld reported that the stric t data filte rin g required by the NM O T
procedure w as causing NM O T m easurem ents to take m ore than 6 m onths in som e locations,
an una ccep ta ble tim e period fo r IEC 61215 q u a lific a tio n . The NM O T pro ced ure is d escrib e d in
IEC 61853-2, w hich is referenced by IEC 612 15 -2 :2 02 1.
To re ctify the una ccep ta ble m easurem ent tim e, th re e a lte rn a tiv e s w ere proposed:
a) Put e xcep tion s to the NM O T data filte rin g (as specified in IEC 6 18 53 -2 ) into the
IEC 61215 test, m aking the te s t com p le tio n tim e sh o rte r when perform ed as a part o f
IEC 61215.
b) Am end IEC 6 1853-2 to allo w the te s t to be com pleted m ore quickly.
c)
Rem ove the N M O T te st from IEC 61215 edition 2.
In choosing betw een these a lterna tives, the p ro je ct team co nside red the fo llo w in g inform ation:
•
It is u nd esirab le to crea te tw o d iffe re n t v e rs io n s o f the sam e te st by putting m any
e xce p tio n s in the refe ren cin g standard. U pkeep on the te st procedure shall be perform ed
in both loca tion s, and the tw o te sts yield inform a tion th a t is nam ed the sam e but is not
e qu iva len t.
•
The purpose o f the IEC 61853 se ries is to "c h a ra cte rize the m odules at a w ide range o f
te m p era ture s, irra dian ces, a ngles o f incidence, and s p e ctra ," in o rd e r to "a ccura tely
pre dict the ene rg y p ro du ction o f the m odules u nder va riou s fie ld c o n d itio n s ," as taken from
the IEC 618 53 -2 :2 01 6 intro du ction . The IEC 61853 series d efin es a m eth od o lo gy fo r
ene rg y p rediction.
•
The goal o f IEC 61215 is m odule d esign q u a lific a tio n , i.e. w h e th e r a m odule o f a p articula r
design is like ly to last in the field.
•
Thus, N M O T does not relate to the o b je ctive o f IEC 61215.
•
NM O T tests have an u n ce rta in ty (ty p ic a lly ± 4 °C ) th a t is larger than the actua l ope ra ting
te m p era ture d iffe re n ce betw een m ost m odule types.
•
D atasheet N M O T and NO CT values are not h eavily used. It is m ore com m on to use
th erm al m odel co e fficie n ts (such as those provided w ith PV syst, fo r exam ple ) to a ccount
fo r th erm al e ffe cts in ene rg y g eneration.
•
To m ake NM O T a useful m easurem ent, it may be required to increase - not decrea se data co lle ction tim e, or to perform data c o lle ctio n in ind ivid u a lize d sid e -b y -s id e tests
designed fo r com paring a sm all se t o f d iffe re n t m odule types.
•
Thus, lim iting the data co lle ction tim e in IEC 61853-2 in o rd e r to keep IEC 61215
q u a lifica tio n tim e reason ab le m ay pre ven t the NM O T te st from e ver yield in g m eaningful
data.
The above points led the pro je ct team to rem ove the N M O T te st (M Q T 05) and the associated
"perfo rm a nce at N M O T" te st (M Q T 06.2).
-
40-
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
A .12 Very low currents during thin-film tests
E dition 2 co nta ins revision s to m itig ate the d iffic u lty o f co n tro llin g ve ry low cu rren ts in th in film
m odules during som e tests. In two tests, a fractio n o f the m od ule ’s STC peak pow er cu rren t
( /mp) is a pplied during a test. This a p p lica tio n o f cu rre n t occurs during the h um id ity-fre e ze test
(M Q T 12), and during the th erm al cyclin g te st (M Q T 11). In MQT 12, 0,5 % / mp is a pplied, as
sp ecified in IEC 61215-2. In M QT 11, the applied cu rre n t is sp ecified in tne te chn olo gysp e cific parts. For CdTe, a-S i, or CIG S, the a pplied currents are 0,1 / mp, as sp ecified in
IEC 6 12 15 -1 -2 :2 02 1, IEC 6 12 15 -1 -3 :2 02 1, and IEC 6 1 2 1 5 -1 -4 :2 02 1. For sm aller ce lls, these
sp ecified cu rren ts m ay be so sm all th a t th ey are im p ractica l to m on itor and co ntrol. Thus, the
w ordin g in each o f these cases has been revised to call fo r the p re vio u sly-d e sig n a te d fractio n
o f / mp, or 100 mA, w h ich e ve r is larger.
A .13 Limit bypass diode testing to three diodes
E dition 2 co nta ins a revision to keep the bypass diode testing procedure pra ctical,
even in
som e new er m odule designs th a t have dozens o f bypass d iodes em bedded in the lam inate.
T he e dition 1 bypass diode te st (M Q T 18) required rep etitio n o f the te s t procedure on all
bypass diodes, and e le ctrica l a ccess to each diode. If a standard production m odule did not
allo w e le ctrica l a ccess to each diode, the m an ufa ctu re needed to p rovide a sp ecial m odule
w ith e le ctrica l access to the d iodes to com p le te the test. The pro ced ure w as w ritten to suit
m odules having a fe w diodes in a ju n c tio n box. All diodes w ere te ste d, since the p osition ing of
the diode w ithin the ju n ctio n box (e.g. edge o r m iddle) is likely to be im p orta nt in determ ining
the th erm al e n viro n m e nt when the d iodes are flo w in g cu rre n t. H ow ever, fo r new er designs
conta ining dozens o f bypass diodes em bedded in the m odule package, m aking a special
sam ple th a t a llo w s a ccess to each diode is no lon ge r pra ctical. F urtherm ore, the individual
testing o f each diode is ve ry-tim e consu m in g, w ith o u t yield in g useful inform ation beyond w hat
one o bta ins from te sting a fe w diodes. T hus, in e dition 2, fo r m odules conta ining fo u r o r more
bypass d iodes, MQT 18 is only perform ed on three o f them . The th re e d iodes are selected for
te st based on th eir location, w hich m ay be im p orta nt to the therm al e nviro n m e nt. S e lectin g the
d iodes fo r te st based on loca tion has pre ced en t in IEC 6 21 08 :2 01 6, 10.11 fo r C PV m odule
and a ssem bly d esign q ua lifica tio n .
A .14 Revert the insulation test to 2005 version
C hanges w ere m ade to the insu latio n te st (M Q T 03) from the IEC 612 15 :2 00 5 to
IEC 6 1215-2:2016. T hese chan ge s involved how foil coverin g is used during the test, as
sum m arized in T able A .2.
T ab le A .2 - Sum m ary of foil p lacem en t during in sulatio n test in three d iffe re n t v ers io n s.
M odule type
IEC 61215:2005
Foil placem ent
IEC 61215-2:2016
Foil placem ent
IEC 61215-2:2021
Foil placem ent
Fram eless
Edges and back
Edges, plus all polym eric
surfaces
Edges
Fram ed w ith poor conductor
Edges and back
Edges, plus all polym eric
surfaces
Edges
Framed
None
A ll p o lym eric surfaces
None
A m ajor concern a ssociated w ith the IEC 612 15 -2 :2 01 6 foil c o n fig u ra tio n is the in a b ility to
d ete ct surface trackin g when all p olym e ric surfaces are covered, since one o f the test
req uirem en ts is "no d ie le c tric breakdow n o r surface tra c k in g ." It is also u nd esirab le that the
ca pa citan ce introduced by coverin g a large area d isa ble s the te s t e q u ip m e n t’s arc discharge
d e te ction . As arc d isch arg e is a p re cu rso r to d ie le c tric breakdow n, useful inform a tion is lost. It
is also possible th a t va riou s te st lab ora tories m ay app ro ach coverin g the ju n c tio n box w ith foil
d iffe re n tly, th us causing va ria b ility in the te st. E dition 2 th e re fo re reverts to the 2005 version
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-4 1 -
o f the te st, and a lso rem oves the 2005 re q uirem en t o f coverin g the e ntire back o f a fram eless
m odule w ith foil.
The a pplied levels in MQT 03 have been harm onized w ith IEC 61730. Thus, a m odule th a t is
undergoing sim u ltan e ou s sa fety and design q u a lific a tio n need not have the te st perform ed
tw ice u nder slig h tly d iffe re n t co nd itio ns. Furtherm ore, a m odule ca n n o t pass design
q u a lifica tio n if it w ould fa il an insu latio n te st n ecessary fo r safety.
A .15 Bending test
E dition 2 adds a bending te st (M Q T 22) fo r m odules th a t are d escrib e d as "fle x ib le " on the
m an ufa ctu re r label o r d atasheet. T he m odules are bent around a cylin d e r to the m inim um
radius sp ecified on the label or datasheet.
A .16 Stabilization option for boron oxygen LID (MQT 19.3)
B oron-oxygen lig h t-in d u ce d d e g ra da tion (B O -LID ) is a w ell-kn o w n effe ct in S i.[61] R ecently,
published studies have indicated th a t te m p ora ry changes in the sta te s o f BO -LID defects may
im pact IEC 61215 q u a lifica tio n tests. Data su g g e st th a t th erm al cycling m ay cause a tra n sitio n
from the degraded state to the reg en erated s ta te ,[62] causing an a pp aren t increa se in
p erform an ce a fte r th erm al cycling fo r m odules shipped in a w ith BO -LID defe cts in the initial
("A ” ) o r degraded ("B ") state. Furtherm ore, dam p heat m ay cause m odules shipped in the
sta bilized state ("C ") to undergo an a pp aren t decrea se in p erform an ce th a t is not fie ld re p re s e n ta tiv e .[6 2],[6 3] D am p heat m ay also cause degraded BO -LID defects to tran sition
from B to A fo r m odules th a t are not sta bilized , ca using an a pp aren t p erform an ce increase.
The pro je ct team u nanim ously agreed th a t the IEC 61215 se ries should deal w ith s ta b iliz a tio n
o f m odules w ith BO -LID defects m ore co m p re he nsive ly than the pre vio u s version. How ever,
before m aking large changes, the p ro je ct team w ould like to com p le te an e x pe rim en tal study
o f each option fo r sta b iliza tio n suggested by team m em bers. Thus, this e dition o f the
IEC 61215 se ries only a dd re sses the m ost urgent case: m odules th a t m ay fa il a te st because
o f BO -LID chan ge s th a t are not fie ld -re p re s e n ta tiv e . T o address th is case, BO-LID
sta b iliza tio n
(M Q T 19.3)
is
introduced
in
IEC 612 15 -2 :2 02 1,
fo llo w in g
cond itio ns
recom m ended in the lite ra tu re .[63] P erform ing th is s ta b iliz a tio n a fte r dam p h ea t te sting is
required fo r Si m odules in IEC 612 15 -1 -1 :2 02 1.
The im portant, but less urgent, cases o f m odules th a t m ay e xhibit an a pparent perform ance
increase due to BO -LID e ffe cts during stress tests w ill be addressed in a fu tu re am endm ent.
IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
-4 2 -
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q u a lifica tio n and type a p p ro va l
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m odules
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a ssem blies
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IEC 61215-1:2021 © IEC 2021
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