ABSTRACT
The continuing quest to reduce photovoltaic module degradation and improve performance requires a complete set of techniques to evaluate the module's entire cells' parameters. The foremost technique to observe module degradation is by monitoring the module performance under actual operating conditions. In this study the performance of silicon photovoltaic modules was monitored over an extended period of time. Modules comprising cells of three different technologies were used in the investigation. The cell technologies are Edge-defined Film-fed Growth silicon, mono-crystalline silicon and multi-crystalline silicon. During the monitoring period degradation in the performance of one of the modules was observed. An analysis of this degradation showed that low cell shunt resistance caused the observed degradation. It is also shown that these shunt paths reduce a module's efficiency when operating under low light levels. Hence, verifying the fact that shunt paths caused the observed degradation.
