Field Study of Photovoltaic Systems with Anti-Potential-Induced-Degradation Mechanism: UVF, EL, and Performance Ratio Investigations

Abstract

The potential-induced degradation (PID) of photovoltaic (PV) modules is one of the most extreme types of degradation in PV modules, where PID-affected modules can result in an almost 25% power reduction. Understanding how module defects impact PID is key to reducing the issue. Therefore, this work investigates the impact of an anti-PID inverter on PV modules throughout three years of field operating conditions. We used electroluminescence (EL), ultraviolet fluorescence (UVF), and thermography imaging to explore the varieties of an anti-PID inverter connected to a PV string. It was discovered that a PV string with an anti-PID inverter could improve the output power of the modules by 5.8%. In addition, the performance ratio (PR) was equal to 91.2% and 87.8%, respectively, for PV strings with and without an anti-PID inverter.

Keywords

• photovoltaic cell reliability
• potential induced degradation
• PV performance monitoring
• ultraviolet fluorescence imaging
• electroluminescence imaging