They described their findings in “UV-induced degradation of high-efficiency silicon PV modules with different cell architectures,” which was recently published in Progress in Photovoltaics.

Fraunhofer’s researchers investigated the common methods used to test for UV degradation and found that they can overstate the extent of the issue compared to what is experienced in the field.

The result – surprising at first glance – is that conventional UV tests can significantly exaggerate the degradation effect. In these lab tests, experts simulate the natural UV exposure ...