Review on degradation of EVA encapsulated PV Module by UV ageing

Solar energy is considered to be one of the prime sources of renewable energy for the generation of electrical energy, which is gaining the importance in recent time in India and there is a plan to generate 200GW of solar energy by 2024. Solar energy is absorbed by Photo-Voltaic (PV) cells and converted into electrical energy. Such PV cells are connected in series and parallel combination to generate required output power. Hence, Photo-Voltaic (PV) modules must be in operation for long time without any reduction in output and efficiency. In recent times, to achieve this, both surfaces of PV module are encapsulated by Ethylene-Vinyl-Acetate (EVA) polymer, but UV radiations leads to degradation of EVA polymer, which results in deterioration of PV module, thus overall efficiency and output of module reduces. Various UV accelerated ageing studies and investigations have predicted service time of module. The objective of this investigation is to review the available literature with respect to types of PV cells & encapsulant used, UV ageing parameters & instruments employed and envision a way forward in employing EVA with nano additives as an encapsulant to improve its performance.