Life Prediction Model Development for Flexible Photovoltaic Modules using Accelerated Damp Heat Testing

Establishing the reliability of photovoltaic (PV) modules is challenging because of several failure mechanisms that can be triggered during outdoor exposure. Accelerated reliability testing has been proven to be an efficient strategy for assessing the field life of photovoltaic modules. Developing a reliable model for correlating indoor accelerated test performance to field life performance is critical as it enables high quality product development with minimum customer product returns. In this work, we have developed a reliability model for assessing the field life of copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) based flexible PV modules using accelerated damp heat tests conducted at different temperature and humidity conditions. It was shown that including a time exponent term in the life prediction model could be important for improving the accuracy of field life prediction.