Investigation of the common quality and reliability issues in the photovoltaic panels

To date, there have been no consumer reports on the quality or long-term reliability of photovoltaic products, so buying modules can be a dicey and pricey undertaking. Even a module that looks good to the average customer may have tiny defects in lamination or soldering that, over time in the field, will become micro cracks or even overheat - requiring expensive repairs or full replacements. This paper states the reasons why it is necessary to carry out a quality control during the PV modules design, production and manufacturing stages as well as in the development of a PV installation to obtain its maximum energy production and reliability. This investigation gives the guidelines to follow and the basic quality control to carry out and make sure that the installed PV modules have the quality level to guarantee the profitability of the installation during its operative life. Finally, commonly detected defects based on the field observations were stated and made suggestions for improving both the quality and the reliability of the PV modules.