Solar Materials and Components Certification

Polymeric materials and PV module certification

Polymeric materials are essential to the fabrication of PV modules and used in critical components such as substrates, encapsulants, back sheets and adhesives. Safety compliance with established standards minimizes risk of failure and helps ensure safe operation, covering such areas as flammability, resistance to ignition, thermal endurance and electrical properties. We can run separate investigations, as well, to evaluate the properties of critical module components. Customers also benefit from services such as joint UL/IEC and other international certifications, and ongoing R&D support from our PV materials experts.

UL Solutions offers streamlined testing and certification of PV materials to:

• UL 94, the Standard for Tests for Flammability of Plastic Materials for Parts in Devices and Appliances
• UL 746A, the Standard for Polymeric Materials - Short Term Property Evaluations
• UL 746B, the Standard for Polymeric Materials - Long Term Property Evaluations
• UL 746C, the Standard for Polymeric Materials - Use in Electrical Equipment Evaluations
• UL 1703, the Standard for Standard for Flat-Plate Photovoltaic Modules and Panels
• UL 61730-2, the Standard for Photovoltaic (PV) Module Safety Qualification - Part 2: Requirements for Testing and IEC 61730-2

PV module testing: Wiring and harnesses

PV modules operate at high temperatures and are exposed to a variety of environmental conditions. As a result, the insulation of module interconnection wiring may be required to be sunlight resistant and rated for wet locations at a temperature rating of 90ºC or above. UL Solutions provides testing and certification to:

• UL 854, the Standard for Standard for Service-Entrance Cables
• UL 4703, the Standard for PV wire, which offers superior sunlight resistance
• UL 9703, the Outline of Investigation for Distributed Generation Wiring Harnesses. The wiring system and harnesses UL Solutions is also the first in the world to offer an NEC-mandated certification program for North American market access.

PV module components

Critical components of a PV module must be individually assessed to determine safety and performance compliance. Noncompliance may delay product certification, increasing time-to-market as well as costs for design changes – and results in additional testing.

UL Solutions evaluates and certifies components to national and international standards:

• UL 3730, the Standard for Photovoltaic Junction Boxes
• UL 6703, the Standard for Connectors for Use in Photovoltaic Systems and UL 6703A for PV connectors

To assist manufacturers, UL Solutions also offers the UL Solutions Component Recognition program, which allows quicker and easier sourcing of known components as well as enhanced supply chain management.