US Patent 8207440 Photovoltaic modules with improved reliability

A solar module includes a protective shell with at least two sealed sections formed by moisture barrier sealants. Each sealed section is separated from the adjacent sections and includes at least a portion of a solar cell. In this sectioned configuration, any local defect through the protective shell will only affect the performance of the portions of the solar cells within a particular section that contains this defect and will not affect the portions of the solar cells that are in other sections.