Monitoring the Moisture Ingress into PV Modules by Measuring Capacitive Characteristics

We are presenting an approach for the monitoring of the parasitic capacitance of PV modules as an indication for moisture ingress into the polymers during artificial aging tests. The setup can be used on commercially available modules and prototypes without complex sample preparation. Influences on the measurement result like temperature and humidity dependence are investigated. First measurements during damp heat show promising results for framed full-size and mini-modules.