Abstract The ability to quantify internal strain levels within a photovoltaic (PV) laminate is essential to aid in the development of reliable and sustainable PV modules. This need is even greater for emerging applications with a high degree of integration such as vehicle and infrastructure integrated PV. Within this work, we demonstrate a scalable optical sensing solution, which allows for the in situ thermo‐mechanical strain and temperature monitoring of photovoltaic modules. Using a combination of two optic fibers with fiber Bragg gratings (FBGs) with a different packaging, an absolute in‐laminate temperature accuracy of ± 0.3°C has been achieved along with the ability to detect changes in strain as low as ± 0.248?μ?. The sensor solution provides the potential to monitor and quantify various failure modes or degradation at various stages in the development process up to in‐field monitoring. Furthermore, it provides a platform for the direct validation of physics‐based simulations.
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