Spire’s Spi-Sun Solar Simulator to go to European Joint Research Center at ISPRA

BEDFORD, USA: Spire Corp. announced that it will provide the Spi-Sun Simulator 4600SLP to the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre in Ispra, Italy (JRC ISPRA). Spi-Sun Simulators are now used in more than 30 testing laboratories around the world to qualify PV modules.

The European Solar Test Installation (ESTI) lab in Ispra, Italy began certifying solar modules almost 20 years ago, based on their own industry standard “Ispra 503”. Eventually this standard was adopted by the International Electro Technical Commission (IEC) as the basis for the crystalline modules standard (IEC 61215), and later as the thin-film modules standard (IEC 61646).

Roger G. Little, chairman and CEO of Spire, said: “With a Class AAA rating, Spire’s Simulators have become the industry standard for PV module testing, as demonstrated by utilization in over thirty test labs worldwide. Our proprietary method of controlling the Simulator's pulse length, its large irradiance range, and its superior spectral control provide test labs with a powerful tool for assessing PV module performance during development or qualification. Spire’s Simulators are also ideally suited for production manufacturing environments, and there are currently hundreds used in manufacturing facilities throughout the world.”