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The VDE Institute and the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems ISE have opened a new PV module testing and certification centre, the VDE-Fraunhofer ISE Test Centre for Photovoltaics (TZPV). The facility will also be used to develop further standards.

Fraunhofer ISE is in charge of the relevant performance tests, whereas the VDE Institute is responsible for safety testing and certification according to widely used standards and testing principles.

“In view of a continually increasing variety of products on the market, our goal is to ensure a high level of quality and reliability of PV modules and to further develop the test standards” says Michael Köhl, project leader at Fraunhofer ISE.

Testing complies with the type approval requirements specified in IEC and European standards IEC EN 61215 for modules made of crystalline silicon solar cells and IEC EN 61646 for thin film modules, and safety requirements according to IEC EN 61730-1/2.