How IEC standards and IECSE certification are driving the solar market

Posted on by

The emergence of new solar cell materials and manufacturing methods is driving the development of this technology and relevant industry standards. In particular, the relevant international standards are prepared by specialists from the Technical Committee (TC) 82 “Solar Photovoltaic Power Systems” as part of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC; IEC). At the same time, the distribution of such documents is facilitated by the activities of the International Electrotechnical Commission System for Conformity Testing and Certification of Electrical Equipment (IECEE; IECEE).

New materials, new manufacturing processes and new ideas are helping solar panel designers to break records in terms of efficiency and drive cost savings for solar panels. In many places around the world, solar panels are already a competitive source of electricity. In the future, they may become even more attractive due to technological progress and numerous research projects. For example, in November last year, the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany, together with the Austrian company EV Group, developed a multilayer solar cell with a record 30.2 percent efficiency in converting sunlight into electricity.

But, according to experts, this is far from the limit, and the biggest breakthroughs are yet to come. Analysts expect a host of new materials to emerge in the coming years that will reduce the cost of converting sunlight into electricity while making the process more efficient. Indeed, many research teams are currently exploring the possibility of using cheaper materials in the manufacture of solar cells, as well as ways to achieve higher efficiency.

Today, the solar cell market is dominated by products made with crystalline silicon. This is a relatively expensive material. But there are already commercial alternatives. For example, using materials such as cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) to make solar panels at a lower cost (to the detriment of efficiency) using thin-film technology can be used.

However, the theoretical limit for the efficiency of converting solar energy into electricity in the case of such products is noticeably lower than the efficiency of solar cells based on crystalline silicon. Therefore, researchers are increasingly considering creating multi-layer panels that can effectively use the wider solar spectrum.

For example, the Fraunhofer Institute’s development discussed above is a hybrid solar panel consisting of a layer of crystalline silicon and three other layers of translucent materials located above, including new materials: gallium indium phosphide (GaInP) and gallium arsenide ( GaAs).

But for promising new semiconductor materials to achieve commercial success, it is necessary not only to achieve high energy conversion efficiency and reduce the cost of raw materials – such materials must also be reproducible on an industrial scale while maintaining efficiency and have a durability of several decades.

And when it comes to the need to ensure the proper level of efficiency and durability of an electrical product, industry standards come to the rescue. The IEC portfolio already contains a number of related documents that outline general principles and guidelines for the design, manufacture and installation of solar panels.

For example, the latest standard IEC 61215: 2016 “Photovoltaic modules for terrestrial placement – Design validation and type approval of technical regulations – Part 1: Test requirements” establishes requirements for terrestrial photovoltaic modules suitable for long-term operation. It covers all crystalline silicon modules, with experts emphasizing the importance of standards evolution. In their opinion, such documents need to be continuously revised taking into account the specifics of new technological processes and materials that are tested by heating in a humid environment, ultraviolet irradiation and temperature exposur
e. Source: http://standard.kz