Types of Solar Panels
Today there are essentially four different types of solar panels
that you can purchase easily and use if you want to install solar
panels on your home to generate electricity or heat your home. They
are Monocrystalline Silicon Panels, Polycrystalline Silicon Panels,
String Ribbon Silicon Panels, and Amorphous Silicon Panels.
Monocrystalline Silicon Panels - Monocrystalline (or
single-crystal) silicon solar panels have a return electricity rate
of anywhere from 14% to 18%. These panels are made from one
continuous sheet of silicon that has pieces of metal nailed to the
edges to increase the conductivity and to excite the electrons.
Monocrystalline panels are more expensive than some of the other
types of solar panels that you can buy but they are also more
effective, so in the long run you’re better off buying these panels
if you can afford the up front cost.
Polycrystalline Silicon Panels - Polycrystalline (or
multi-crystal) silicon panes have an electricity return rate of
about 12%-14% so they are less efficient than monocrystalline
silicon solar panels. These panels are made up of lots of individual
PV cells that have metal conducting materials nailed to the sides
that will help excite the electrons and also connect the cells
together.
Polycrystalline silicon panels are the cheapest solar panels to produce
so they are usually the cheapest for consumers to buy. The maintenance costs
of polycrystalline silicon panels is lower than the maintenance cost of
monocrystalline solar panels because if one of the cells on a
polycrystalline panel is damaged you can have the individual cell replaced
without having to replace the entire panel.
String Ribbon Silicon Panels – String ribbon silicon panels are made
in a similar way to the polycrystalline silicon panels and have about the
same electricity return rate. The difference between string ribbon silicon
panels and polycrystalline silicon panels is that the PV cells in a string
ribbon panel are made of strips of silicon attached to metal bars that
connect the strips to form a cell. Using strips of silicon to form the cell
instead of using one solid square of silicon make the production cost of
string ribbon silicon panels a bit lower than the production cost of
polycrystalline silicon panels.
Amorphous Silicon Panels – Amorphous silicon panels have the lowest
electricity return rate of any type of solar panels. Traditionally amorphous
silicon solar panels have an electricity return rate of between 5%-6%. That’s
because these panels aren’t made with crystalline silicon. They are composed of
a piece of semi conductive metal, like copper, with a thin silicon film over the
top that is attached to some metal pieces.
These panels are very cheap to produce but when you’re buying solar panels for
home use you need to consider the long term efficiency of the type of panel that
you’re buying. Unfortunately, though cheap to begin with they do not produce
much energy, therefore amorphous silicon panels are not going to be cost
effective in the long run.