IEC TS 63209-2:2022

IEC TS 63209-2 ®
Edition 1.0 2022-08
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
colour
inside
Photovoltaic modules – Extended-stress testing –
Part 2: Polymeric component materials
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IEC TS 63209-2 ®
Edition 1.0 2022-08
TECHNICAL
SPECIFICATION
colour
inside
Photovoltaic modules – Extended-stress testing –

Part 2: Polymeric component materials

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 27.160 ISBN 978-2-8322-5293-2

– 2 – IEC TS 63209-2:2022 © IEC 2022
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
INTRODUCTION . 5
1 Scope . 6
2 Normative references . 6
3 Terms and definitions . 7
4 Failure modes and component interactions . 8
5 Selection of tests . 9
6 Single component testing . 9
6.1 Extended test procedures . 9
6.2 Reporting of single component durability properties . 10
6.2.1 Product identification . 10
6.2.2 Reliability test data . 10
7 BOM specific testing . 11
7.1 Test procedures – test coupons . 11
7.2 Test procedure – mini-modules . 13
7.2.1 Mini-module design. 13
7.2.2 Mini-module testing . 14
7.3 Reporting of BOM specific tests . 15
7.3.1 Product identification . 15
7.3.2 Reliability test data . 15
8 Uniform Characterization Form . 16
8.1 General . 16
8.2 Material test results and reporting requirements . 17
Bibliography . 20

Figure 1 – Mini-module design parameters, 1-cell and 4-cell . 14

Table 1 – Encapsulant and backsheet failure modes . 9
Table 2 – Single component testing . 10
Table 3 – BOM specific tests for Glass/Backsheet cSi modules . 12
Table 4 – BOM specific tests for Glass/Glass cSi modules . 13
Table 5 – Mini-module design parameters . 15
Table 6 – Uniform Characterization Form – Part 1 . 18
Table 7 – Uniform Characterization Form – Part 2 . 19

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES – EXTENDED-STRESS TESTING –

Part 2: Polymeric component materials

FOREWORD
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IEC TS 63209-2 been prepared by IEC technical committee 82: Solar photovoltaic energy
systems. It is a Technical Specification.
The text of this Technical Specification: is based on the following documents:
Draft Report on voting
82/2015/DTS 82/2058A/RVDTS
Full information on the voting for its approval can be found in the report on voting indicated in
the above table.
The language used for the development of this Technical Specification is English.
A list of all parts in the IEC 63209 series, published under the general title Photovoltaic modules
– Extended-stress testing, can be found on the IEC website.

– 4 – IEC TS 63209-2:2022 © IEC 2022
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INTRODUCTION
This document is intended as a guide for component suppliers, module manufacturers and
downstream durability assessments, and focuses on polymeric materials in crystalline silicon
module laminates.
IEC TS 63209 series describes environmental stress tests which provide data for evaluation of
the long-term reliability of PV modules, probing areas not addressed in the IEC 61215 and
IEC 61730 series. IEC TS 63209-1 provides a menu of extended environmental stress tests for
PV modules, and this document, IEC TS 63209-2, describes complementary component level
testing which probes degradation modes which are not easily understood or addressed by
module level testing. This document additionally describes an overlapping suite of component
level tests useful for screening individual components and component combinations for a
specific bill of materials (BOM).
The testing in this document is intended for reliability evaluation only, with no pass/fail
requirements.
This document does not describe any new test or stress exposures, but takes the single
component testing described in the IEC 62788 series as a base line for stress exposures which
are then extended. As degradation of one component can be influenced by other components
(e.g. some backsheets tested with one encapsulant may perform differently than with another,
and vice versa), a slate of BOM-specific tests and related stress exposures are included which
are described in IEC 62788 component standards, but are not typically part of component data
sheets.
This document details component level stress sequences, sample construction and evaluation
test methods which can assist in a durability analysis. A particular focus is given to UV stress
alone and in combination with other stressors. UV exposures, in particular, are difficult to
perform accurately at the module level due to time and space constraints. Polymeric
components are known to have UV-induced degradation modes which progress relatively
slowly. Testing at a component level allows for smaller sample sizes, longer stress exposures,
and test coupons designed to target relevant properties after applied stress.

– 6 – IEC TS 63209-2:2022 © IEC 2022
PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULES – EXTENDED-STRESS TESTING –

Part 2: Polymeric component materials

1 Scope
This part of IEC TS 63209 includes a menu of tests to use for evaluation of the long-term
reliability of materials used as
...