Industry - Solar & Renewable Energy

Solar Simulator for Photovoltaic Manufacturing

Improving Solar Manufacturing Line Testing

Solar Simulation Trusted By These Companies
Logo of National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), client of G2V Optics
Logo of Sandia National Labs , client of G2V Optics
Logo of Denowatts Solar, client of G2V Optics
Logo of Rayleigh Solar Tech, client of G2V Optics
Logo of Sunplugged Photovoltaics, client of G2V Optics
Logo of Nanoflex Power Corporation, client of G2V Optics
Logo of Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), client of G2V Optics
Logo of Power Roll, client of G2V Optics

Reliable Validation of Solar Panel Manufacturing Performance

Whether you are manufacturing solar panels for homeowners or businesses around the world,  you’re a leader in the renewable energy movement and people are counting on you to deliver.

When it comes to delivering a top product on time unexpected maintenance delays cost time, money, and potential partnership

But what if you could reduce the risk of solar simulator line maintenance?

Switching from traditional xenon solar simulators to LED might just be what your lines need.

With G2V Optics Class AAA solar simulator you are no longer left in production limbo waiting on bulb replacements, excessive warm-up times, or field calibration just to get back on schedule.

With >10,000 on the LEDs, minimal warm-up times, no field calibrations, and no risk of bulb dimming you can better plan your maintenance times.

Are you ready to improve your production uptime and give your QC department Class AAA light?

A solar panel on a solar panel manufacturing line on its way to testing

Featured Innovations

Engineered Lighting as Reliable as the Sunrise

You’re manufacturing the energy revolution. Our solar replication technologies are meant to keep your lines’ uptime as reliable as the sun.

G2V Pico Solar Simulator On Desk Vertical With Computer Pico 5

Pico™ Solar Simulator for Solar Energy R&D Labs

Your solar panel lines are running but ongoing R&D is needed to stay ahead of your competitors. A Pico Class AAA solar simulator gives you an edge through accurate and tunable light to assist you in discovering your next line product. No matter if it is single junction or multi-junction the Pico has you covered

Sunlight replicated for  your R&D lab.

solar-simulation-light

Sunbrick™ Solar Simulator for Solar Panel Manufacturers

Your solutions are as big as your ideas. Whether your manufacturing expertise is in thin-film for mobile power, building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) module, or silicon solar panels, our G2V Sunbrick will allow you to illuminate and test all of it. Improve your line's QC with reliable and accurate sunlight.

Engineered Sunlight for your solar panel manufacturing lines.

How the Sunbrick Helped Rayleigh Solar Tech Commercialize Perovskites

Problem: Dr. Sam March, co-founder of Rayleigh Solar Tech, had demonstrated his perovskite technology in the lab at a 1” x 1” scale, but he needed a reliable larger-area solution to reach commercialization.

Innovation: G2V’s Sunbrick provided the large area, reliable solar simulation that Dr. March needed.

Outcome: The G2V Sunbrick was integrated into a testing chamber design that has enabled Rayleigh to accelerate its testing to push perovskites to commercial viability.

g2v-energy-smart-city

You’re building the future. We’ll provide the light.

Keeping Pace With Photovoltaic Developments to Bring the Best to Market

You’re bringing the latest research and development of solar panels is shaping the commercial world. You want to bring the very best, and for that, you have to deeply understand the science and the ongoing progress.

Our comprehensive photovoltaics article looks at:

  • Context of Photovoltaics in the world
  • Photovoltaic cell theory
  • Economics of Silicon vs. other solar cell types
  • Best Testing Practices
  • Some of the latest photovoltaics research developments

Read the entire article here

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

G2V doesn’t currently provide automated testing solutions out of the box. However, there is a Python API (included with the Sunbrick and the Pico’s Variable Module) and a LabView DLL (Sunbrick only) so customers can implement a scripted automated solution that fits their needs. We’re always happy to work collaboratively to ensure the fit is right. Furthermore, we’re always building out and planning our future product roadmap; any feature suggestions you have are welcome!

All of our solar simulators are currently calibrated using several detectors calibrated by a third-party lab, which qualify as “gold” cells, all of which are metrologically traceable to NIST. This is done to reduce the reliance on a single source and achieve a calibration closer to the world average. In the future, we may introduce some comparisons against “silver” cells, but that information will be communicated transparently in the metrology section of our extensive QC reports.

Reported LED lifetimes range from 10,000 to 100,000 hours depending on manufacturer and conditions. Most reported lifetimes are for LEDs driven at maximum current. We design our solar simulators to drive LEDs at lower currents, which results in the LEDs performing closer to the maximum of their lifetime range. Our solar simulators are rated for 10,000 hours and covered by a full two-year warranty.

The EQE module (only available with our Pico product) uses individual LEDs to probe a device’s spectral responsivity, and as such, the resolution of the resulting EQE curve is limited to the wavelengths of the LED types used in the solar simulator. While you won’t achieve nanometer resolution from our EQE module, you will get a low-resolution snapshot (between 25 nm to 100 nm on average) that still contains valuable device information.

The IV module is currently only available with the small area solar simulator, the Pico, but an IV module solution for the Sunbrick is currently on G2V’s product development roadmap. In the meantime, we recommend pairing Sunbricks with a source meter such as a Keithley 2400 series and a custom characterization system with Sinton Instruments. Contact us for extra information.

Our solar simulators will illuminate their specified areas with Class A spatial non-uniformity (Sunbrick providing large area, Pico for small areas), so the number of busbars is ultimately limited by the size of the individual solar cells you’ve connected on a busbar. If you are concerned about micro-features in the illumination field, get in touch and we can discuss the resolution of our validation measurements and whether a higher-resolution spatial measurement may mitigate your concerns.

Knowledge Base

Our Expertise. Your Home Base.

We make sure that our customers have access to resources that help them understand more not only about the products we offer, but relevant applications and standards relevant to them. Visit the knowledge base to learn more about LED illumination, Class AAA standards, Photovoltaics and much more. Knowledge is solar power.

SWITCH Materials: Photochromic-Electrochromic films – Customer Story

Let's Talk

Talk to a Photonics Expert About Solar Panel Line Needs

Are you a solar panel manufacturer looking to improve their QC testing?

You are in the right place.

Missed quality checks on the floor are one thing having that product hit the field is another.

Being equipped with a product that accurately replicates sunlight becomes imperative that nothing is missed.

We have a team of experts ready to reduce your downtimes.

testing-a-solar-panel

Download the G2V Solar Simulation Brochure

For the latest information on the Pico small area solar simulator please download the LED Solar Simulation Brochure. Included is everything you need to know about the Pico, as well as a complete specification sheet. If you would like to know more please get in touch.

Download our Comprehensive Solar Simulation Brochure

For the latest information on the Sunbrick large area solar simulator please download the LED Solar Simulation Brochure. Included is everything you need to know about the Sunbrick, as well as a complete specification sheet. If you would like to know more please get in touch.