Solar Photovoltaic laboratory is equipped to perform the most important solar cell and module characterizations. The focus is on performance and reliability of the photovoltaic modules. Full size solar modules up to 2m long can be characterized by IEC class AAA pulsed solar simulator. Electroluminescence imaging is also available to detect micro cracks and other invisible faults. Mechanical load tester can be used to test rigidity of the modules against wind and snow loads. Solar cells can also be characterized with two IEC class AAA solar simulators, one pulsed and one steady state simulator. Pulsed cell solar simulator is also equipped to perform spectral response measurement.
In the outdoor test facility it is possible to make long term energy yield and degradation studies in real world irradiation and weather conditions. Reference irradiation is monitored by high accuracy irradiation station. Benchmarking of the different module brads or technologies is possible by this setup. This will bring valuable information of the real PV Module performance in Finnish weather conditions.
Mobile photovoltaic lab (new in 2020) will make it possible to perform most of the module characterization also in the field. Mobile lab is equipped with IEC class A+A+A+ solar simulator and high performance electroluminescence imaging. In addition, it is possible to perform infrared imaging of the entire solar photovoltaic power plant by high performance drone camera system. It is also possible to make commission testing of the Photovoltaic plant performance.