Comoros single glass photovoltaic module glass

Among the current module products on the market, only single-glass modules are equipped with tempered glass. The choice of front and shear materials is critical in determining the module's ability to withstand hail impacts. Over the past decade, the PV industry has experienced a great revolution.

The choice of glass in a PV module has become a key consideration in efforts to improve durability in the face of extreme weather conditions.

Glass-Glass module designs are an old technology that utilises a glass layer on the back of modules in place of traditional polymer backsheets. They were heavy and expensive allowing for the lighter polymer backsheets to gain the majority of the market share at the time.

The only feasible way for tempered glass to be widely used in solar modules is its application in single-glass modules. The prevailing benchmark for hail resistance, which stipulates that solar modules must be capable of withstanding impacts from hailstones up to 35mm in diameter, may fall short in areas frequently subjected to larger hailstones.

Another major change that is also incorporated for glass-glass modules is swapping EVA for polyolefins as an encapsulant. This is due to the free radicals produced during the cross-linking lamination process of EVA. While traditional backsheets are somewhat permeable to the free radicals, the double-glass module is not.

The weight of glass-glass modules are still an issue, with current designs using 2 mm thick glass on each side for framed modules, the weight is about 22 kg, while 2.5 mm on each side will increase the module's weight to 23 kg. Compared to traditional glass-foil modules, which are about 18 kg, this is a 20% increase in weight.