In recent months, leading manufacturers such as Jinko Solar and Longi Solar have introduced new products with different wafer sizes and power ratings to the market. The focus was mainly on maximizing the rated power. The technical background was also discussed to some extent. However, negative facts that can occur with constant maximization were rarely discussed. This includes, for example, the junction box installed in PV modules, which has to cope with new challenges due to higher currents. An example of this is the reaction time of the junction boxes, which should be shortened along with the increase in power. In recent months, however, it has been observed that this „faster“ response time could not be applied in part to both old and new junction boxes. It is suspected that this is due to different design components and processing of the junction boxes concerned. If such a reaction time cannot be applied, failures and quality problems occur more frequently.
In this article, we’d like to break down for you what technical issues and challenges manufacturers can face when putting high-powered solar modules into service.
What is the important role of junction boxes and how can we achieve sufficient quality despite high power?
In this article , we will answer these and other questions.
Junction boxes as an important indicator for the safe operation of a PV module
Junction boxes play a major role in the functionality of a PV module. They ensure that the current from a solar module can flow in the right direction. Defects at the junction box can lead to heat accumulation with harmful consequences for the module.
Within the following picture you can have a closer look at such a defect:
