Types of Solar Panels prominent in Indian Market

When you think about installing solar panels, you usually consider factors like cost, aesthetic, and energy efficiency. While these are important factors, there is a factor in solar panels that will affect all three of these: the types of solar panels you choose. The types of solar panels on the market today will affect how much installation and manufacturing cost as well as how the panels will look on your roof. It’s one of the most important considerations for a solar panel installation.

What are the 3 Types of Solar Panels?

The three types of solar panels are monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin-film solar panels. Each of these types of solar cells is made in a unique way and has a different aesthetic appearance. Here’s the breakdown for each type of solar panel.

 Polycrystalline > PV Solar Panel

Polycrystalline solar panels are a newer development, but they are rising quickly in popularity and efficiency. Just like monocrystalline cells, polycrystalline cells are made from silicon. But polycrystalline cells are made from fragments of the silicon crystal melted together. During the manufacturing process, the silicon crystal is placed in a vat of molten silicon. Instead of pulling it out slowly, this crystal is allowed to fragment and then cool. Then once the new crystal is cooled in its mold, the fragmented silicon is thinly sliced into polycrystalline solar wafers. These wafers are assembled together to form a polycrystalline panel.

Polycrystalline cells are blue in color because of the way sunlight reflects on the crystals. Sunlight reflects off of silicon fragments differently than it does with a pure silicon cell. Usually the back frames and frames are silver with polycrystalline, but there can be variation. The shape of the cell is a square, and there are no gaps between corners of cells.

 

Monocrystalline Solar Panel

Monocrystalline solar panels are the oldest type of solar panel and the most developed. These solar panels are made from about 40 of the monocrystalline solar cells. These solar cells are made from pure silicon. In the manufacturing process (called the Czochralski method), a silicon crystal is placed in a vat of molten silicon. The crystal is then pulled up out of the vat very slowly, allowing for the molten silicon to form a solid crystal shell around it called an ingot. The ingot is then sliced thinly into silicon wafers. The wafer is made into the cell, and then the cells are assembled together to form a solar panel.

Monocrystalline solar cells appear black because of the way sunlights interacts with pure silicon. While the cells are black, there’s a variety of colors and designs for the back sheets and frames. The monocrystalline cells are shaped like a square with the corners removed, so there are small gaps between the cells.

 

Mono vs. Poly Solar Cells: Quick Facts

Monocrystalline solar cells are more efficient because they are cut from a single source of silicon.

Polycrystalline solar cells are blended from multiple silicon sources and are slightly less efficient.

Thin-film technology costs less than mono or poly panels, but is also less efficient. It is mainly used in large-scale commercial applications.

N-Type cells are more resistant to light-induced degradation than P-Type cells.

PERC Cells add a reflective layer to give the cell a second oppportunity to absorb light.

Half-cut cells improve solar cell efficiency by using smaller ribbons to transport electrical current, which reduces resistance in the circuit.

Bifacial solar panels absorb light on both sides of the panel.

 PERC is an innovation that is currently available in the form of Mono and Poly cells. Conventionally, solar cells have an emitter layer on the front surface and a black coating on the rear side. On the other hand, Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC) uses dielectric passivation film on the rear surface of the cells. Thus, in PERC cells, the front surface absorbs sunlight while the rear surface absorbs the scattered or reflected light. This results in higher generation than their traditional counterparts due to higher light absorption and internal reflectivity. These two factors adds multiple benefits to the end users, especially the residential consumers.

PERC modules have two significant highlights:

1.      Better flexibility – provides the end-users with more tilt and placement options without sacrificing efficiency – convenient for residential consumers with space restrictions on roofs.

2.      Higher energy density– lower levelized energy cost leads to lower payback periods.

 

Mono PERC Panels

When we combine two of the best technologies in the market, they provide even higher energy efficiency of upto 22% and justifies high capital expenditure of a retail solar power system. Fewer numbers of panels can attain the desired energy production. Their exceptional low-light and high-temperature performance enables more flexibility in installation and mounting. Mono PERC may not be suitable for all types of solar projects. However, they are optimal for residential rooftop installations, where faster ROI and lower installation costs are the driving factors.

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