With the rise of clean energy, PV cables, as key components in solar energy systems, play a crucial role where quality and performance are paramount. To ensure the safe and reliable operation of PV cables in solar systems, conducting a series of necessary tests is indispensable. Here are the top 10 tests that PV cables must undergo to ensure they function optimally in solar energy systems:
Conductor Resistance Test:
The conductor is the core of the cable, and its resistance directly affects the efficiency of energy transmission. Conducting a conductor resistance test ensures that the cable can reduce energy consumption during power transmission, thus improving energy utilization efficiency.
Insulation Resistance Test:
The quality of the insulation layer directly affects the safety of the cable. An insulation resistance test can detect whether the insulation layer can resist current leakage sufficiently, thus avoiding safety hazards caused by insulation layer issues.
Dielectric Strength Test:
The dielectric strength test verifies the cable's ability to withstand voltage under rated conditions. This helps ensure that the cable does not breakdown under normal operating conditions, ensuring system stability.
Tensile Strength Test:
As PV cables are often installed in outdoor environments, the tensile strength test verifies the cable's ability to withstand tensile stress during installation and use, ensuring its strength and durability. For instance, according to EN50618, the elongation at break should be greater than 125%, and for KUKACABLE's PV cables, the elongation at break is typically around 20% higher, reaching up to 185%.
Heat Resistance Test:
Considering the operation of PV cables in high-temperature environments, a heat resistance test verifies the cable's stability and performance under high-temperature conditions.
Flame Retardant Test:
The flame retardant test ensures that PV cables can self-extinguish in the event of a fire, minimizing the impact of fires on the entire system. For PV cables, a vertical burning test can be conducted, subjecting a single cable to vertical burning at 800 degrees Celsius for one minute, and observing whether it self-extinguishes afterwards.
Environmental Adaptability Test:
Outdoor-installed PV cables need to adapt to various environmental conditions, including temperature changes, humidity, and UV radiation. The environmental adaptability test ensures that the cable can operate stably and withstand the effects of various natural environments.
Corrosion Resistance Test:
Especially in humid or corrosive climates, cables may be subject to corrosion of metal parts. The corrosion resistance test ensures that the metal parts of the cable have sufficient corrosion resistance.
Cable Connectivity Test:
As cable connectivity directly affects the efficiency of energy transmission in the system, conducting cable connectivity tests is a crucial step in ensuring the proper functioning of connection parts.
Reliability Test:
Combining the above tests, the reliability test is the final step in confirming the performance and quality of PV cables. This includes simulating the stability and reliability of cables during long-term operation.
KUKA CABLE conducts these 10 tests, as well as an additional 21 tests such as oil immersion and bending tests, on every batch of PV cables. Sample cables and detailed product reports are retained for each batch, ensuring compliance with EN50618 standards. This commitment to excellence means a continuous pursuit of product quality and compliance, and vigilance against non-compliance and substandard cable issues in the industry.
When purchasing and installing PV cables, it's crucial to ensure that the supplier can conduct these 10 tests to guarantee product quality. This will help improve the overall performance of the system, extend the cable's service life, and more effectively promote the use of clean energy.
