With the collaboration of Dr. João Lucas de Souza Silva, and Dr. Tárcio André dos Santos Barros
When we talk about photovoltaic modules, the IEC 61215 (Terrestrial Photovoltaic (PV) Modules – Design Qualification and Type Approval) and IEC 61730 (Photovoltaic (PV) Module Safety Qualification) standards establish several minimum requirements and criteria that photovoltaic modules must meet.
In Brazil, these requirements are defined by INMETRO, which began with Ordinance 004/2011, based on IEC 61215, but with fewer tests. A module is approved if it es the tests illustrated in Figure 1, does not present significant visual defects and if the maximum power is between -5% and +10% of the power indicated by the manufacturer.
INMETRO Ordinance 140/2022 brought some improvements. It updated the initial stabilization procedures with exposure to light, defined concepts of photovoltaic module families and included photovoltaic tiles in the certification.
In addition, a compliance assessment schedule was established with new tests every 36 months. Although interesting, this practice is unlikely to be common due to the rapid evolution of modules. The efficiency table was also updated to reflect technological advances, as shown in Figure 2, and the new permitted power tolerance is now 0% to +5%.
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