Research
Electroluminescence image of a donated Lumos 185 module.
Prudent PV Reuse Requires Collaborative Research
Co-founder Rich Stromberg leads our research arm at ESS™. He is currently an interdisciplinary doctoral student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks focused on technical research to determine which equipment should and should not be reused as well as social research to understand the perspectives of needs-based solar reuse customers and the factors that drive system owners to repower their solar arrays early.
Rich leads ESS/Coldharbour's participation on the NSF-funded "Securing critical material supply chains by enabling phOtovoltaic circuLARity (SOLAR)" initiative lead by Battelle and EPRI. He is also a key member of the International Electrotechnical Committee Technical Committee 82 Working Group 2 tasked with writing a technical report on reuse of solar photovoltaic modules (TR 63525).
Tools of the Trade
Analysis of solar PV equipment that has been operating in the field requires a very large toolbox. In fact, so single toolbox can hold all the equipment we need to assess the quality and reliability of solar array equipment offered for donation.
Our tools include:
Multimeters
Solar module meters
Irradiance sensors
Temperature sensors (infrared and thermocouple)
Infrared cameras (3 models!)
Digital microscope
Colorimeter/spectrophotometer
I-V curve tracer
Digital cameras
UV fluorescence kit
Electroluminescence kit
Bench power supply
Endoscopic camera
Convex mirror
Insulation and isolation testers
Insulated tools
Safety equipment and PPE
MANY hand tools
Portable power supply
Solar Reuse Test Laboratory
The SRTL site in southern Colorado packs a lot of technical capabilities in one location at an affordable price. The 20ft X 8ft lab space is clean and protected from the elements to conduct a range of analytical tests such as electroluminescence, UV fluorescence, colorimetry, microscopy, dry/wet leakage and thermography under biased conditions. 120-volt AC power is provided by one of the reuse test arrays.
Eight different manufacturer/module types can be found at the currently erected test arrays with another seven manufacturer/module types in inventory to conduct experiments and measure long-term performance from a range of defect modes.
The SRTL is available for use by academic/industry researchers at a rate of $100/day.
Lab space showing workbench, supply bins and EL imaging bay.
EL kit being used to image a Shell SQ80 module
Sharp ND-176 reuse array powers the SRTL.
Test array #2 consists of Shell 110W, Arco 50W, AstroPower 120W and Silicon Energy 195W modules.
Test array #3 is made up of SolarFun 235W modules and doubles as a Level 1 EV charging station.
I-V curve tracing reveals how modules and strings of modules perform in daylight conditions while sweeping the full power load spectrum.
UV fluorescence highlights silicon cell cracks on a failed PV module when illuminated at nighttime.
IR thermography of a hot cell from a failed PV module.