EN 60904-3:2008

Photovoltaic devices - Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data

IEC 60904-3:2008 describes basic measurement principles for determining the electrical output of PV devices. The principles given in this standard are designed to relate the performance rating of PV devices to a common reference terrestrial solar spectral irradiance distribution. Covers testing in both natural and simulated sunlight. The main changes with respect to the previous edition include an extended wavelength range and the use of uniform wavelength intervals.

Photovoltaische Einrichtungen – Teil 3: Messgrundsätze für terrestrische photovoltaische (PV) Einrichtungen mit Angaben über die spektrale Strahlungsverteilung

Dispositifs photovoltaïques - Partie 3: Principes de mesure des dispositifs solaires photovoltaïques (PV) à usage terrestre incluant les données de l'éclairement spectral de référence

La CEI 60904-3:2008 décrit des principes de mesure pour la détermination de la sortie électrique des dispositifs PV. Les principes indiqués dans la présente norme sont prévus pour relier les caractéristiques de performance des dispositifs PV à une répartition spectrale de l'éclairement solaire terrestre de référence commune. Comprend les mesures effectuées sous éclairement solaire naturel ou simulé. Les principaux changements par rapport à l'édition précédente incluent une extension de la gamme de longueur d'onde et l'utilisation d'intervalles de longueurs d'onde uniformes.

Fotonapetostne naprave - 3. del: Postopki merjenja prizemnih fotonapetostnih (PV) sončnih naprav s podatki referenčnega spektralnega sevanja (IEC 60904-3:2008)

General Information

• Status: Withdrawn
• Publication Date: 19-Jun-2008
• Withdrawal Date: 30-Apr-2011
• ICS: 27.160 - Solar energy engineering
• Technical Committee: CLC/TC 82 - Solar photovoltaic energy systems
• Drafting Committee: IEC/TC 82 - IEC_TC_82
• Parallel Committee: IEC/TC 82 - IEC_TC_82
• Current Stage: 9960 - Withdrawal effective - Withdrawal
• Start Date: 20-May-2019
• Completion Date: 20-May-2019
• Ref Project: SIST EN 60904-3:2008 - Photovoltaic devices -- Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data

Relations

• Replaces: EN 60904-3:1993 - Photovoltaic devices - Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
• Effective Date: 29-Jan-2023
• Replaced By: EN 60904-3:2016 - Photovoltaic devices - Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
• Effective Date: 07-Jun-2022

Standards Content (Sample)

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
01-september-2008
1DGRPHãþD
SIST EN 60904-3:2001
)RWRQDSHWRVWQHQDSUDYHGHO3RVWRSNLPHUMHQMDSUL]HPQLKIRWRQDSHWRVWQLK39
VRQþQLKQDSUDYVSRGDWNLUHIHUHQþQHJDVSHNWUDOQHJDVHYDQMD,(&
Photovoltaic devices - Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV)
solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
Photovoltaische Einrichtungen - Teil 3: Messgrundsätze für terrestrische photovoltaische
(PV) Einrichtungen mit Angaben über die spektrale Strahlungsverteilung
Dispositifs photovoltaïques - Partie 3: Principes de mesure des dispositifs solaires
photovoltaïques (PV) à usage terrestre incluant les données de l'éclairement spectral de
référence
Ta slovenski standard je istoveten z: EN 60904-3:2008
ICS:
27.160 6RQþQDHQHUJLMD Solar energy engineering
2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

EUROPEAN STANDARD
EN 60904-3
NORME EUROPÉENNE
June 2008
EUROPÄISCHE NORM
ICS 27.160 Supersedes EN 60904-3:1993

English version
Photovoltaic devices -
Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV)
solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data
(IEC 60904-3:2008)
Dispositifs photovoltaïques -  Photovoltaische Einrichtungen –
Partie 3: Principes de mesure Teil 3: Messgrundsätze
des dispositifs solaires photovoltaïques für terrestrische photovoltaische (PV)
(PV) à usage terrestre incluant Einrichtungen mit Angaben über
les données de l'éclairement spectral die spektrale Strahlungsverteilung
de référence (IEC 60904-3:2008)
(CEI 60904-3:2008)
This European Standard was approved by CENELEC on 2008-05-01. CENELEC members are bound to comply
with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard
the status of a national standard without any alteration.

Up-to-date lists and bibliographical references concerning such national standards may be obtained on
application to the Central Secretariat or to any CENELEC member.

This European Standard exists in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other
language made by translation under the responsibility of a CENELEC member into its own language and notified
to the Central Secretariat has the same status as the official versions.

CENELEC members are the national electrotechnical committees of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, the
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia,
Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom.

CENELEC
European Committee for Electrotechnical Standardization
Comité Européen de Normalisation Electrotechnique
Europäisches Komitee für Elektrotechnische Normung

Central Secretariat: rue de Stassart 35, B - 1050 Brussels

© 2008 CENELEC - All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved worldwide for CENELEC members.
Ref. No. EN 60904-3:2008 E
Foreword
The text of document 82/511/FDIS, future edition 2 of IEC 60904-3, prepared by IEC TC 82, Solar
photovoltaic energy systems, was submitted to the IEC-CENELEC parallel vote and was approved by
CENELEC as EN 60904-3 on 2008-05-01.
This European Standard supersedes EN 60904-3:1993.
The main changes with respect to EN 60904-3:1993 are as follows:
− wavelength range extended deeper into the ultraviolet (280 nm instead of 305 nm);
− sunfacing surface considered;
− uniform wavelength intervals used (0,5 nm up to 400 nm, 1 nm up to 1 700 nm, 5 nm up to 4 000 nm);
better resolution than in EN 60904-3:1993;
− more representative atmospheric conditions are considered;
− the model used to generate the spectrum has changed from BRITE to SMARTS (version 2.9), which is
publicly available.
In addition, the terminology annex has been removed from EN 60904-3:2008 because this part is now
included in IEC/TS 61836:2007. The titles of some clauses have been changed (others have been added)
to accord with the usual structure of IEC standards.
The following dates were fixed:
– latest date by which the EN has to be implemented
at national level by publication of an identical
national standard or by endorsement (dop) 2009-02-01
– latest date by which the national standards conflicting
with the EN have to be withdrawn (dow) 2011-05-01
Annex ZA has been added by CENELEC.
__________
Endorsement notice
The text of the International Standard IEC 60904-3:2008 was approved by CENELEC as a European
Standard without any modification.
__________
- 3 - EN 60904-3:2008
Annex ZA
(normative)
Normative references to international publications
with their corresponding European publications

The following referenced documents are indispensable for the application of this document. For dated
references, only the edition cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced
document (including any amendments) applies.

NOTE  When an international publication has been modified by common modifications, indicated by (mod), the relevant EN/HD
applies.
Publication Year Title EN/HD Year

IEC 60891 1987 Procedures for temperature and irradiance
+ A1 1992 corrections to measured I-V characteristics EN 60891 1994
of crystalline silicon photovoltaic devices

1) 2)
IEC 60904-1 - Photovoltaic devices - EN 60904-1 2006
Part 1: Measurement of photovoltaic
current-voltage characteristics

1) 2)
IEC 60904-2 - Photovoltaic devices - EN 60904-2 2007
Part 2: Requirements for reference solar
devices
1) 2)
IEC 60904-7 - Photovoltaic devices - EN 60904-7 1998
Part 7: Computation of spectral mismatch
error introduced in the testing of a photovoltaic
device
1) 2)
IEC 60904-9 - Photovoltaic devices - EN 60904-9 2007
Part 9: Solar simulator performance
requirements
1)
Undated reference.
2)
Valid edition at date of issue.

IEC 60904-3
Edition 2.0 2008-04
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
NORME
INTERNATIONALE
Photovoltaic devices –
Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) solar devices
with reference spectral irradiance data

Dispositifs photovoltaïques –
Partie 3: Principes de mesure des dispositifs solaires photovoltaïques (PV) à
usage terrestre incluant les données de l'éclairement spectral de référence

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
COMMISSION
ELECTROTECHNIQUE
PRICE CODE
INTERNATIONALE
V
CODE PRIX
ICS 27.160 ISBN 2-8318-9705-X
– 2 – 60904-3 © IEC:2008
CONTENTS
FOREWORD.3
1 Scope and object.5
2 Normative references .5
3 Measurement principles.6
4 Reference solar spectral irradiance distribution .6
Annex A (normative) Use of SMARTS .31

Figure 1 – Reference solar spectral irradiance distribution listed in Table 1 .30

Table 1 – Reference solar spectral irradiance distribution .8

60904-3 © IEC:2008 – 3 –
INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES –
Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV)
solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC provides no marking procedure to indicate its approval and cannot be rendered responsible for any
equipment declared to be in conformity with an IEC Publication.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 60904-3 has been prepared by IEC technical committee 82: Solar
photovoltaic energy systems.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition published in 1989. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
The main changes with respect to the previous edition are as follows:
− wavelength range extended deeper into the ultraviolet (280 nm instead of 305 nm);
− sunfacing surface considered;
− uniform wavelength intervals used (0,5 nm up to 400 nm, 1 nm up to 1 700 nm, 5 nm up to
4 000 nm); better resolution than in the first edition of 60904-3;
− more representative atmospheric conditions are considered;
− the model used to generate the spectrum has changed from BRITE to SMARTS (version
2.9), which is publicly available.

– 4 – 60904-3 © IEC:2008
In addition, the terminology annex has been removed in the new version because this part is
included in another technical committee 82 document (second edition of IEC TS 61836). The
titles of some clauses have been changed (others have been added) to accord with the usual
structure of IEC standards.
The text of this standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
82/511/FDIS 82/519/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this standard can be found in the report on
voting indicated in the above table.
This publication has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all parts of the IEC 60904 series, published under the general title Photovoltaic
devices, can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this publication will remain unchanged until
the maintenance result date indicated on the IEC web site under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in
the data related to the specific publication. At this date, the publication will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
60904-3 © IEC:2008 – 5 –
PHOTOVOLTAIC DEVICES –
Part 3: Measurement principles for terrestrial photovoltaic (PV)
solar devices with reference spectral irradiance data

1 Scope and object
This part of IEC 60904 applies to the following photovoltaic devices for terrestrial applications:
– solar cells with or without a protective cover;
– sub-assemblies of solar cells;
– modules;
– systems.
NOTE The term “test specimen” is used to denote any of these devices.
The principles contained in this standard cover testing in both natural and simulated sunlight.
This standard is not applicable to solar cells designed for operation in concentrated sunlight
or to modules embodying concentrators.
Photovoltaic conversion is spectrally selective due to the nature of the semiconductor
materials used in PV solar cells and modules. To compare the relative performance of
different PV devices and materials a reference standard solar spectral distribution is
necessary. This standard includes such a reference solar spectral irradiance distribution.
This standard also describes basic m
...