Environment-stable solar window modules encapsulated with UV-curable transparent resin. (December 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Yang, Kye-Yong; Kim, Jaeyoung; Cho, Hyung Koun; Ha, Tae-Jun; Kim, Yong-Hoon
• Is Part Of: Solar energy. Volume 158(2017)
• Page Start: 528
• Page End: 532
• Publication Date: 2017-12
• Subjects: Optically clear resin films -- UV curing technology -- Damp heat test -- Optical transmittance -- Solar window modules; Solar energy -- Periodicals; Solar engines -- Periodicals; 621.47
• DOI: 10.1016/j.solener.2017.10.002
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0038-092X

Abstract

Highlights: Environment-stable solar window modules were fabricated by using ultra-violet-curable OCR encapsulation. Damp heat tests were carried out to investigate the operational stability of solar window modules. Spectroscopic analyses were carried out to explain the enhanced stability. Abstract: We demonstrate a practical and robust encapsulation for environment-stable solar window modules based on multi-crystalline silicon solar cells with ultra-violet-curable optically clear resin (OCR) films. Compared to encapsulation with polyvinyl butyral (PVB) films, OCR films significantly improved the operational stability in solar window modules following a harsh damp heat test, at 85 °C of temperature and 85% of relative humidity for 1 k h. Such advance can be realized by suppressed chemical reactions with water molecules in OCR films. We further investigate the optical characteristics of PVB and OCR encapsulation films using ultraviolet/vis. spectrophotometer and Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy measurements to support the claim. We believe that this is the first module-level demonstration (400 mm × 400 mm) of solar windows encapsulated with OCR films fabricated below 60 °C by using UV curing technology, which exhibit a power conversion efficiency of ∼10%, even after undergoing the damp heat tests.