When Solar Panels Crack: What Happens When Photovoltaic Panel Glass
The Sandwich From Hell: Modern panels stack glass, EVA encapsulant, solar cells, and backsheet like a high-tech club sandwich. Break the top layer, and moisture invades faster
Solar modules are getting bigger, thinner, and more powerful. But from Texas to Thailand, the same problem is appearing: broken glass. Not from hail or mishandling, but from cracks that spider from frame edges, splinter near clamps, and web across modules.
This matches up with RETC reports noting a decline in the compressive strength of solar module glass over the years: “In our laboratory testing, RETC has consistently observed that heat-strengthened solar glass is more prone to breakage than fully tempered solar glass.
From pv magazine 6/25 Clean Energy Associates has investigated glass breakages at utility-scale solar sites across three continents. It has found that there isn't a single root cause, but a perfect storm: thinner glass combined with design shortcuts, evolving materials, and field realities that stress modules beyond what was simulated in the lab.
Double-glass PV modules undergo a lamination process, where two sheets of glass encase the solar cells. During this step, heat and pressure bond the materials together. If the process is not precisely controlled, edge pinch can occur—where the glass edges become compressed unevenly, creating built-in stress. Edge pinch and resultant stress.
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