Hanwha SolarOne Co., Ltd. (Hanwha SolarOne), a top-10 global photovoltaic manufacturer of low-cost, high-quality solar photovoltaic modules, today announced that its SF260-36-1PxxxL module passed the Long-Term Sequential Test by TUV Rheinland, a leading third-party certification organization of solar module quality and reliability.
The Long-Term Sequential Test (LST) evaluates overall quality and performance of solar modules based on four sub-tests: damp heat, thermal cycling, humidity freeze and bypass diode. Conventional industry testing standards, set by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), allow for a separate module to be tested for each criterion. The LST subjects the same module to all four sub-tests, thereby evaluating it under conditions closer to those the product will face during real world deployment.
"Passing the rigorous TUV Rheinland Long-Term Sequential Test builds on Hanwha Solar's commitment to quality, which includes an industry-leading 12-year workmanship and materials warranty and 25-year linear power warranty on our modules," said Chris Eberspacher, chief technology officer of Hanwha SolarOne.
The SF260-36-1PxxxL module maintained a constant level of power output through 2,000 hours of damp heat testing and 400 cycles of thermal cycling testing—double standard industry expectations—and four 10-cycle test blocks of humidity freeze—four times standard industry expectations.
"Hanwha SolarOne is among the very first PV manufacturers in the industry to successfully pass TUV Rheinland's stringent Long-Term Sequential Test," said Hee Cheul Kim, president of Hanwha SolarOne. "This certification exemplifies how Hanwha SolarOne is a great long term partner, backed by Korea's Fortune-500 Hanwha Group, capable of offering a high quality product with a strong return on investment."
In addition to passing the TUV Rheinland LST, Hanwha SolarOne also recently achieved an "A" rating for Brazil's National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro) certification through collaboration with local partner Unitron S.A.