Honeywell: Expands line of solar PV protection products

Honeywell, a global leader in providing customers with high-performance specialty materials, has expanded on its line of PoweShield® backing systems, which protect photovoltaic (PV) modules in severe weather conditions.

The company has added the PowerShield PV270, which is designed to be 30 percent lighter than most traditional backing systems, yet also provides the same level of protection and insulation. The announcement of the product line expansion came at the 25th European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition, which is the largest PV solar conference in the world.

"As demand for alternative energy grows, so does demand for technologically-advanced materials such as Honeywell's PowerShield line of backing systems for solar panels," stated Sanjay Sharma, global business director for Honeywell's PowerShield business. "This is another example of how Honeywell is innovating to help manufacturers build more cost-effective, durable solar panels."

The new PV270 has been optimized for decreasing the number of times manufacturers must change the rolls of the backsheet, which allows for longer periods of manufacturing uptime. The entire PowerShield line of backing systems helps seal and protect the electrical components of solar panels, which deters the threat of shorting or power loss, regardless of temperature and humidity conditions. The backing systems also protect panels from UV rays, and freeze-thaw cycle effects. The systems are mainly developed for rigid crystalline silicon cell PV modules, which generally have a lifespan of 25 years.

PowerShield PV270 is TUV Rheinland certified, meeting IEC 1000 volt standards, and is recognized by Underwriters Laboratories (UL) for modules produced for North American installations. Modules built with the PowerShield PV270 have exceeded over twice the required performance criteria under the IEC 61215 EU standards for PV modules.