Presented at the 4th World Conference on Photovoltaic Energy Conversion, WCPEC-4, June 15 2018. A critical aspect of silicon solar module reliability is the fracture characteristics of the solar cells under mechanical loads. Here, we use 3-point bend testing of coupons to investigate the effects of tabbing, encapsulant and thermal history on the fracture strength of silicon solar cells. We find that the fracture strength depends significantly on the encapsulant modulus and thickness. Doubling the encapsulant thickness can increase the load at fracture by 80%. In addition, short exposure to low temperatures (< -20C) can decrease the room temperature fracture strength by 80% or more. This low temperature effect on crack susceptibility is not currently captured in standard durability testing.