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ABSTRACT
Solar energy is becoming increasingly popular as a feasible alternative for energy sources that rely on fossil fuels. While the grid-tied system is mostly employed by power generation firms, the stand-alone system is frequently used for residential purposes. Increasing the reliability and as a consequence, the service life of the PV system is one important way to lower the cost of solar systems. Investigating the factors responsible for power variation and breakdown of a PV system becomes very crucial for improved management and planning. According to current statistics, crystalline silicon PV system's rated power degrades at a rate of 0.8% each year (Jordan & Kurtz, 2011). One needs to be aware of the difficulties in order to extend the reliability and service life of PV system. Hence, the research works backing up this literature is carried out for this purpose. PV system designers, the PV industry, engineering lines, test equipment developers, technological research institutes, standardization committees, as well as national and regional planning agencies, are the intended audience for this research work. The measurement techniques that enable the detection and investigation of PV system failures are covered in this literature. There are currently a wide range of techniques available to characterize PV module failures both outside and in industrial labs. In addition to explaining image-based techniques and visual inspection, we also discuss the use of I-V characteristics as a diagnostic tool. We outline the rationale behind each technique, present industry best practices, and describe how to decipher the photos. The steady state thermography, pulse thermography, and lock-in thermography methods of thermography are all described. Thermography in steady state conditions is the technique that is most frequently applied. Additionally, electroluminescence techniques are a widely used standard lab technique for identifying faults in PV systems.
