Embodiments relate to one or more techniques that may be employed alone or in combination, in the refurbishment or recycling of used solar modules. In certain approaches, a (heated) wire may be used to cut through one or more layers (e.g., front encapsulant, back encapsulant, both front and back encapsulant, backsheet) of a solar module that is being recycled or refurbished. Some approaches may employ testing of a used solar module, alone or in combination with information (e.g., as part of a received package) regarding parameters of a used solar module such as panel size, width, length, height, thickness of glass, or others. According to specific embodiments, used solar modules may be subjected to various cleaning processes at one or more points during refurbishment/recycling.