F R A U N H O F E R I N S T I T U T e F o R so l ar ener g Y syste m s I S E
1 2
1 Double climate chamber with solar
simulator for testing modules under
PV Module Certification
real conditions.
2 Double climate chamber for various tests
for new Standards and
(e.g. hot-spot test).
new Technologies
Photovoltaics have become an important
pillar in the world-wide energy supply.
Fraunhofer Institute for Recently, the application of PV technology
Solar Energy Systems has especially gained importance in coun-
Heidenhofstrasse 2 tries with challenging climates e.g. in the
79110 Freiburg Middle East and North Africa. Due to the
Germany constant cost pressure on module produc-
Phone +49 761 4588-0 tion, a standardized quality assurance of PV
modules remains crucial to ensure safe and
TestLab PV Modules reliable products.
Daniel Philipp
Phone +49 761 4588-5414 Currently, new technologies require an ad-
tlpv@ise.fraunhofer.de aption of standardized testing. In the past
few years, the most relevant international
www.testlab-pv-modules.de standards for PV module safety, design
www.ise.fraunhofer.de qualification and type approval have been
revised to keep pace with the innovative
technologies penetrating the market as
well as to consider recent findings.
The accredited TestLab PV Modules at
Fraunhofer ISE has updated its capabilities
to meet the new standards IEC 61215-1/-2
edition 1 and IEC61730-1/-2 edition 2.
06-924-16
The TestLab PV Modules
at Fraunhofer ISE
In cooperation with VDE Testing and
Certification Institute in Offenbach,
Fraunhofer ISE operates the accredited
TestLab PV Modules in Freiburg since
2006. High-grade and innovative
testing facilities, accredited to
ISO/IEC 17025, ensure the most precise
testing results. Our in-house partner
laboratory CalLab PV Modules is an
accredited calibration laboratory which
conducts performance measurements
at a world-leading leading measure-
ment uncertainty of 1.6 %. In addition,
our customers profit from the scientific
environment of Fraunhofer ISE in which
both measurement labs are embedded.
For many years, our experience in PV
module reliability has been contributing
to standardization procedures and we
have participated in the revision process
of the new standards as well.
 1 2

New Developments in PV Module
Standardization
To give room to a fast developing and
innovative market, the standard’s structure
has been revised. While in the past, there
were different standards for two major
technologies (IEC 61215 ed. 2 for crystalline
silicon and IEC 61646 ed. 2 for thin film PV
modules), the new standard is divided into
two parts. As illustrated in Fig. 3, one part
states the test conditions, while the other
part includes general requirements as well
as special adaptions of the test conditions
for individual technologies. In addition,
almost every test procedure has been
technically adjusted and new tests have
been added.
Exemplarily some highlighted changes are:
n consideration of LID : Independent from
Testing New Technologies 1 The hot-spot test (IEC 61215) is carried out
Despite joint efforts of various testing in our double climate chamber with a solar
laboratories worldwide, international simulator. ©BSW-Solar
standards are always one step behind the 2 Measurement device developed for hail test.
latest developments in PV module and cell
technologies. Thus, test procedures for the
newest technologies often do not exist.
former version
Two prominent examples for such technolo- IEC 61215 Ed. 2
c-Si
gical trends are bifacial PV modules, which
use the front and rear side illumination to
IEC 61646 Ed. 2
generate electricity, and PV modules with thin-film
so-called organic or dye solar cells.
The TestLab PV Modules supports custo- new version
(partly released)
mers in adapting and developing suitable
testing conditions for new technologies
IEC 61215-1 Ed. 1 test requirements
in close cooperation with the certification
body VDE. Our long-term experience in
IEC 61215-1-1 Ed. 1
PV module testing helps us to identify c-Si

the cell technology, every module is necessary modifications in test conditions IEC 61215-1-2 Ed. 1
tested for its sensitivity to an initial light- that enable certification testing for new CdTe

induced degradation technologies. Our expertise enables us to IEC 61215-1-3 Ed. 1

a-Si / µ-Si
n evaluation of module power with detect possible risks at an early stage. We
respect to nominal value: The measured ensure that with every modification in a IEC 61215-1-4 Ed. 1
CIGS / CIS
power of each test sample must not test procedure, the original objective of the
deviate strongly from the nominal value. underlying standard is preserved. IEC 61215-1-… Ed. 1
(new technologies)
n replacement of NOCT (nominal
operating cell temperature): NMOT IEC 61215-2 Ed. 1 test procedures
(nominal operating module tempe-
rature) with a respectively changed test
procedure is implemented instead. 3 Former and new standard IEC 61215
in comparison.
These changes require modifications in the
test equipment and processes as well as
in the evaluation of results. The TestLab
PV Modules has completed all necessary
adaptions and is now able to test
according to IEC 61215-1/-2 edition 1
and IEC61730-1/-2 edition 2.