NAPA, Calif., April 15, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Kiwa PVEL, the independent lab for quality and reliability testing of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules, today announced a significant update to its photovoltaic (PV) module Product Qualification Program (PQP). The revisions directly address some of the fastest-growing concerns for the global solar industry, including the rise of field failures related to spontaneous glass breakage, frame structural failures, and increasingly severe hail events.
"Across the industry, we continue to see increasing instances of spontaneous glass breakage in the field," said Tristan Erion-Lorico, Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Kiwa PVEL. "As manufacturers have pushed toward larger modules and thinner materials, these sudden breakage events have made it clear that more rigorous and statistically meaningful testing is needed. Our updated PQP now uses higher sample sizes and test-to-failure methodologies to better assess module durability."
New Test-to-Failure Methods Improve Module Breakage Insights
A key feature of the updated PQP is the introduction of test-to-failure (TTF) protocols for both static mechanical load (SML) and hail testing. The new SML-TTF complements the PQP's existing Mechanical Stress Sequences (MSS) by quantifying the dominant failure mode and achievable maximum load for each module design submitted for PQP testing. It also expands the test sample quantity to five additional SML-TTF samples, on top of the two MSS samples.
The Hail-TTF protocol replaces the previous Hail Stress Sequence (HSS) in the PQP. The updated hail test increases the sample size to five modules and focuses on impact locations in the areas most prone to breakage, such as edges, corners, and junction box regions. Hail-TTF greatly improves repeatability and comparability across manufacturers and glass suppliers, by escalating hail diameters until failure occurs, providing buyers with more quantifiable breakage thresholds.
Kiwa PVEL has also updated its PQP sample production witness process to more systematically verify critical frame and glass dimensions in factories, further reducing uncertainty related to material and assembly variability.
Updated Stabilization Processes
As n-type technologies become dominant in the PV market, testing labs have encountered increased measurement uncertainty driven by metastability mechanisms. Kiwa PVEL's team spent the past years quantifying these effects and identified three distinct forms of metastability that can distort post-test performance measurements:
- Slow dark-storage degradation following Damp Heat testing
- Accelerated dark-storage degradation following UV exposure and field exposure
- Potentially recoverable PID-polarization degradation following voltage stress
To counter these effects, the updated PQP introduces final stabilization steps, including short doses of full-spectrum light soaking and UV-light soaking, after UVID, Field Exposure, Damp Heat, and PID testing. These steps ensure that post-test flash measurements more accurately reflect true module behavior in the field.
Other PQP Updates
Several other refinements further enhance the PQP's relevance for modern day modules:
- Reduced LID sample size from 17 to 10 modules, justified by low and consistent LID values in recent years.
- Allowance for pre-test current induced preconditioning (in addition to outdoor and indoor light-soaking) to speed testing and improve scheduling flexibility.
- Streamlined UVID sequencing, eliminating the interim UV60 characterization in favor of a continuous 120 kWh/m2 exposure, with an option to extend up to 360 kWh/m2 for BOMs that show higher UVID susceptibility.
- Updated energy ratings following IEC61853-3/4 methodology, leveraging our high accuracy PAN and IAM testing data.
"Regularly iterating on the PQP makes it the most relevant test plan for today's module technologies and failure modes," said Kevin Gibson, Managing Director at Kiwa PVEL. "These updates allow module manufacturers to better showcase product reliability and performance on their current offerings. The new PQP also ensures that solar buyers receive meaningful, statistically robust and actionable data."
For more information, please visit kiwa.com/pvel/pqpv12.
About Kiwa PVEL
Kiwa PVEL is the leading reliability and performance testing lab for downstream solar project developers, financiers, and asset owners around the world. As part of the larger Kiwa Group, Kiwa PVEL's integrated services for the solar supply chain offer technical solutions for mitigating risk, optimizing financing and improving solar and energy storage systems performance throughout the project lifecycle.
Since 2012, Kiwa PVEL's Product Qualification Program (PQP) has been globally recognized for replacing assumptions about PV module performance with quantifiable metrics. Related data and consulting services offered by Kiwa PVEL provide vital procurement intelligence to a network of downstream solar buyers. Visit kiwa.com/pvel and kiwa.com/solar to learn more.
Contact:
Ashley Fallon
Head of Marketing
ashley.fallon@kiwa.com
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