III. Types of Solar Panels
There are 3 types of Solar Panels and I have them broken down for
you below.
Monocrystalline Solar Panels
Monocrystalline solar panels are made from a large crystal of silicon.
These type of solar panels are the most efficient as in absorbing
sunlight and converting it into electricity, however they are the
most expensive. They do somewhat better in lower light conditions
then the other types of solar panels.Polycrystalline Solar Panels
are the most common type of solar panels on the market today. They
look a lot like shattered glass. They are slightly less efficient
then the monocrystalline solar panels and less expensive to produce.
Instead of one large crystal, this type of solar panel consists of
multiple amounts of smaller silicon crystals.
Polycrystalline Solar Panels
Polycrystalline solar panels are the most common type of solar panels
on the market today. They look a lot like shattered glass. They are
slightly less efficient then the monocrystalline solar panels and
less expensive to produce. Instead of one large crystal, this type
of solar panel consists of multiple amounts of smaller silicon crystals.
Amorphous Solar Panels
Amorphous solar panels consist of a thin-like film made from molten
silicon that is spread directly across large plates of stainless steel
or similar material. These types of solar panels have lower efficiency
then the other two types of solar panels, and the cheapest to produce.
One advantage of amorphous solar panels over the other two is that
they are shadow protected. That means that the solar panel continues
to charge while part of the solar panel cells are in a shadow. These
work great on boats and other types of transportation.
Solar Panel Efficiency
Solar Panel efficiency is the percentage of solar energy that is
captured and converted into electricity. It's difficult to give
an exact number, so the numbers below are an average percentage
of efficiency that the different types of solar panels output. Thin
film solar panels will generally degrade approximately 1% each year,
where as crystalline panels degrade at approximately .5% . Below
are the approximate percentages for each type of solar panel:
Monocrystalline- 18%
Polycrystalline- 15%
Amorphous (thin-film)- 10%
Part
IV. Grid Tie & Off the Grid-->
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