What Types of Solar Cells Are There?

Types Of Solar Cells In The UK Home

Mono Crystalline, poly crystalline, and thin-film solar panels are the three most popular varieties of home solar panels. Although there are other kinds of solar panels available, these three are the most frequently utilized for home reasons. All three of these types of solar panels use sunlight to generate power, but it's vital to understand how they differ in several important ways.

Mono Crystalline Solar Panels

Because they are formed of a single silicon crystal, Mono Crystalline solar panels acquire their name. Due to their sleek, black design, they considered as the most effective solar panel type currently available.
Single-crystal silicon is used to build the device, and the material is subsequently sliced into wafers. The high efficiency rates are the result of the free flow of electrons made possible by this. This also makes them the priciest variety of household solar panel.

Advantages

  1. With a 15% to 20% efficiency rate, they are the most effective.
  2. They use little room since they are so effective.
  3. Compared to Poly Crystalline panels, they perform better in low light conditions.

Disadvantages

  1. They are the priciest silicon solar cells available.
  2. As the temperature increases, performance declines. When compared to other solar cell types, the loss is still less.
  3. Mono Crystalline panel manufacturing generates more waste.
    The original silicon utilized is wasted as each of the four sides of the cells is sliced off (which, nevertheless, can be used in the production of Poly Crystalline panels).

Poly Crystalline Solar Panels

In order to create the solar cells for poly crystalline solar panels, multiple silicon pieces are melted together. In comparison to Mono Crystalline cells, Multi Crystalline solar cells have a lower efficiency rate because there is less room for electrons to flow around.
Mono Crystalline panels are more difficult to manufacture, making poly crystalline panels cheaper. Instead of the Mono Crystalline panels' black color, they typically have a blue look.

Advantages

  1. They are cheaper than their Mono Crystalline counterparts.
  2. Less waste is produced during production.

Disadvantages

  1. The energy efficiency of poly crystalline panels is lower, at 13–16%.
  2. Due to their poorer energy efficiency, they require more area than Mono Crystalline panels. To put it another way, more physical panels are required to generate the same amount of energy.
  3. Due to their marginally lower tolerance for temperature increases, they have a shorter lifespan than Mono Crystalline panels. But in actuality, this distinction is barely noticeable.

Solar Panel Recycling

Solar panels made of Mono Crystalline or Poly Crystalline are recycled when they have served their purpose. 85% of silicon, 95% of glass, and all the metals are recycled. The utilization of high-temperature thermal and chemical processes has a price, though. A separate industrial procedure can also be used to recycle thin-film panels.

Thin-Film Solar Panels

Due to their lower material requirements, thin-film solar panels are simpler to manufacture. They are the least expensive form of solar panel available as a result. Flexible thin-film solar panels can be created by applying films of one or more PV materials to a substrate. Thin-film cells come in a variety of forms, including silicon, cadmium, and copper.
The least effective and space-hungry panels on the market are thin-film ones. They are suitable for hotter countries since they can withstand high temperatures better.

Advantages

  1. They are the most affordable solar panel kind that is offered.
  2. They may be adaptable, making them available for novel applications, such as mounting solar panels atop RVs.
  3. They are tolerant of temperature.

Disadvantages

  1. Comparing them to Mono Crystalline panels, they are four times less effective.
  2. In addition to being the least space-efficient, they also have low energy efficiency.
  3. Of the three varieties, thin-film panels have the shortest typical lifespan.

Conclusion

It is worthwhile to conduct an audit of your company's energy use to determine where and how much energy is being wasted. You may put measures in place to increase your company's energy efficiency and save costs once you've determined where energy is being wasted. Check your company energy tariff one last time. You might not be on the best rate if you've been using the same supplier for a time. It can be wise to compare commercial energy providers right away and switch to a more affordable offer.