Sep 15 2010
Underwriters Laboratories, a well known safety testing and certification company, has declared the opening of its photovoltaic equipments testing and certification facility in Mie Prefecture, Ise City, Japan.
The company in addition to its performance checking and safety testing offerings is also planning to extend technical support services to the PV apparatus manufacturers of the country to help in their business development and exports.
The PV systems include parts such as panels, PV modules, inverters, power converters and junction boxes that are normally installed over the roof or on the ground by using supporting frames. The installed parts are often subjected to vagaries of weather conditions such as rain, snow, wind, and hail storm and prone to abasement due to years of usage. The company has been developing standards and safety stipulations for the manufacture of photovoltaic equipments for a number of years. The safety testing and certification service provided by the company has helped the manufacturers of PV equipment to adhere to the prescribed standards and safe operation of PV equipments, to improve their operating performance and subsequently the sales.
The new UL PV testing lab in Japan spans an area of approximately 21,000 square feet and incorporates 14 testing chambers. The lab has features such as solar power simulating machines to produce mock sunlight, testers to check the durability of the equipment against physical and hail impact. The testing facility is managed by specialist engineers and technicians who have professional knowledge in performing such PV tests.
Source: http://www.ul.com.