Encapsulation of PV Modules Using Ethylene Vinyl Acetate Copolymer as the Encapsulant

Abstract

Ethylene vinyl acetate (EVA) encapsulation materials have attracted a lot of attention due to their extensive applications in solar cells. Nearly 80% of photovoltaic (PV) modules are encapsulated by EVA materials. EVA has lots of advantages, such as good light transmittance and elasticity, low processing temperature, excellent melt fluidity, and adhesive property. In addition, the price is low, which makes it very suitable as a solar cell encapsulation material. However, there are also some problems with EVA. Its damp-heat aging resistance and ultraviolet aging resistance are not good. It also easily degrades and becomes yellow, reducing the energy conversion efficiency of the solar cell. This article pays special attention to improving the performance of EVA encapsulation films. In addition, it differentiates between different properties, including the aging resistance, adhesive strength and energy conversion efficiency.