Solar panel types and their comparisons
There are three popular solar panel types available on the market. Monocrystalline solar PV panels, Polycrystalline solar PV panels, and Thin-film solar panels. Each of these PV panels is made differently and has differences in appearance, effectiveness, prices, and the installation their best suited for. Depending on your needs, one PV panel may suit your requirements better than the other.
Breakdown of solar panel types
Let’s take a look at the three types of solar panels which include: monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin-film, and see the advantages and disadvantages of each solar panel type. This will also determine which solar panel type will best suit your PV panel installation requirements. JC Solar Panels offer a variety of solar panel types in our store.
Monocrystalline solar panels
Advantages
- Solar energy collector at high performance and efficiency.
- A neat looking appearance to blend in with your modern home.
Disadvantages
- Monocrystalline solar panels are more expensive than other solar panel types.
Polycrystalline solar panels
Advantages
- A polycrystalline solar panel is much more affordable.
Disadvantages
- Polycrystalline solar panels are less effective for generating solar power than monocrystalline solar panels.
Thin-Film solar panels
Advantages
- Thin-film solar panels offer a great looking appearance.
- They are also flexible and offer a mobile solution.
- Thin-film solar panels are lighter than polycrystalline or monocrystalline solar panels.
Disadvantages
- A thin-film solar panel solution offers the lowest performance for generating solar energy compared to monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels.
What are the three types of solar panels made from?
To generate electricity using solar panels, semiconducting materials are used to create solar cells which converts solar energy or sunlight into usable electricity. A non-metal semiconductor is used to create solar cells which is known as silicon.
Polycrystalline and Monocrystalline solar panels
Polycrystalline and Monocrystalline solar panels have solar cells made of silicon slices or wafers. To build a polycrystalline or monocrystalline solar panel, slices are placed into rows and columns which creates a rectangle covered with a glass sheet, then also framed together. Polycrystalline solar panels and monocrystalline solar panels are made in this manner.
Monocrystalline PV panels and Polycrystalline PV panels consist of silicon cells designed in slices. However, monocrystalline and polycrystalline have differences in the architecture of silicon designs. A single pure crystal is used to construct solar cells which are used in the design of monocrystalline PV panels. Designing Polycrystalline solar panel solar cells, pieces of silicon crystals are melted together to form a mold before they’re cut into slices or wafers.
Thin-Film solar panel materials
Thin-film solar panels are made from multiple different materials. The most common material used to create thin-film solar panels is, cadmium telluride or CdTe. Engineers place a layer of CdTe between transparent conducting layers to assist with capturing sunlight. A glass layer is placed on the top of the solar panel for extra protection.
Amorphous silicon (a-Si) can also be used to build thin-film solar panels. Amorphous silicon (a-Si) is almost the same as what is used in the compassioning of monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels. However, thin-film solar panels are not made up of solid silicon slices or wafers.
Copper Indium Gallium Selenide (CIGS) is also used as a material to construct thin-film solar panels. All elements are placed between layers that make up the CIGS panels. Electrodes are placed on the front and the back of the solar material to allow capturing of electrical currents.
Appearance of the different popular solar panel types.
With every type of solar panel being produced differently, this will alter the physical appearance of each solar panel type.
Monocrystalline solar panel appearance
Monocrystalline solar panels usually have a black panel or black solar cells. The black appearance comes from how light interacts with the silicon crystal. However, the colors of monocrystalline PV panel frames and back sheets may vary. The back sheet of the panels may be silver, white or black. The frames of the solar panel may also be black or silver.
Polycrystalline solar panel appearance
Polycrystalline solar panels are a blue-like color. This is because light reflects off the silicon fragments in the solar cells differently than in monocrystalline solar panels.
Efficiency of solar panels
Every solar panel offers a different amount of energy it is able to produce.
Monocrystalline solar panel efficiencies.
Monocrystalline solar panels usually produce the highest efficiencies to generate solar energy. Also, monocrystalline PV panels have the highest power capacities. Most efficiencies of monocrystalline PV panels reach more than 20% while polycrystalline solar panels reach 15% to 17%. Monocrystalline solar panels usually have higher wattage modules which allow them to generate more power.
Different types of solar panel prices
Every type of solar panel comes with its own unique design and engineering; therefore, each solar panel has its own price range.
Monocrystalline solar panel prices
Monocrystalline solar panels tend to be the most expensive solar panel when compared to the other common solar panel types. The monocrystalline solar panel price is high but so is its efficiency to generate solar energy for your home. But what makes monocrystalline solar panels expensive? It’s the manufacturing process. The solar cell creation of monocrystalline solar panels is created with a single silicon crystal. This adds to the cost of manufacturing monocrystalline solar PV panels.
Polycrystalline solar panel prices
Polycrystalline solar panel prices are usually cheaper than of monocrystalline solar panel prices. The manufacturing of polycrystalline solar panels is cheaper because solar cells are created by using fragments rather than a single silicon crystal. This allows a more basic solar manufacturing, therefore, fewer costs to manufacture polycrystalline solar panels allow cheaper prices for the end-user.
Thin-Film solar panel prices
Thin-film solar panel prices depends on the type of thin-film solar panel your want to install. The most affordable thin-film solar panel is the CdTe because it is also the cheapest panel to manufacture. However, any Thin-Film solar PV panel installation price may be lower than that of monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels. It demands less labor for installation than that of mono or polycrystaline solar panels. Being more maneauverable and weighting much lighter, makes the Thin-Film solar panel much easier to install on rooftops.