What Are the Different Types of Solar Panels That Exist Today?

Are you considering solar panels?

Solar energy is a growing trend across the globe. There are now over 3 million residential solar units in use across Australia alone. As this trend continues, it’s important to understand the key component; solar panels. You might not even know there are different types of solar panels or what sets them apart from each other.

Don’t worry, we can help! Keep reading for our guide on the different types of solar panels on the market today.

What Types of Material Use for Residential Solar?

Semiconducting material makes up the solar cells, converting light to electricity. The most common material used in the solar industry for this purpose is silicon.

Polycrystalline & Monocrystalline Panels

Both these solar panels use silicon wafers in their cells. To build these panels, the wafers get laid into rows and columns to make a rectangle. Then it’s covered with a sheet of glass and framed to hold it together.

While both use silicon, the composition varies between monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels. You cut monocrystalline cells from one pure silicon crystal. Polycrystalline cells come from silicon crystal fragments melted together, then cut into wafers.

Thin-Film Panels

Unlike the panels above, thin-film panels have a variety of materials. The most prevalent type of this panel uses cadmium telluride (CdTe).

A layer of CdTe goes between transparent conducting layers that capture sunlight. For protection, there is also a layer of glass on top of that.

You can also use amorphous silicon (a-Si). This is closer to the makeup of monocrystalline and polycrystalline cells. Though they use silicon, they don’t use solid silicon wafers. Instead, non-crystalline silicon goes on top of metal, plastic, or glass.

The last material is copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS) which are also popular. These panels have 4 elements placed between 2 conductive layers. Steel, aluminum, plastic, and glass are common. On the front and back of these go electrodes which catch the electrical current.

What Do the Different Panels Look Like?

The different production processes and materials cause differences in how the panels look. Professional solar companies you can find will explain this in more detail to you. But you can learn about residential solar here.

Monocrystalline

If you see solar panels with black cells, it’s often a monocrystalline panel. They appear black because of how light reflects and interacts with the silicon cells.

While the cells are black, monocrystalline uses a variety of colors for the back sheets and frames. The back sheet is often black but it could be white or silver. The metal framing will be black or silver.

Polycrystalline

Polycrystalline has a bluish hue due as light reflects off the fragments of silicon. Like monocrystalline, there are different colors for back panels and frames. The frames are often silver, while the back sheets are silver or white.

Thin-Film

The biggest aesthetic difference here is how thin and discrete these panels look. As their name suggests, thin-film cells are much slimmer than the above two types. In fact, the cells used are around 350 times thinner than the silicon crystal wafers.

While the cells are thinner, the panel can be similar in thickness to the above options. Especially if you’re using a thicker frame. You can get adhesive thin-film panels that go as close to your roof’s surface as possible.

But the more durable thin-film panels come with frames that are up to 5cm thick. When it comes to color, the panels can have a blue or black hue. This will depend on the material used to make them.

What Type Offers the Best Solar Panels?

To get the best results, you need the best solar company you can find. But what about the best solar panels? Well, silicon crystal solar panels offer the highest efficiency.

Monocrystalline panels can be 15-20% more efficient, making them the top choice to go for. But polycrystalline panels aren’t far behind as they’re 15-17% efficient.

Types of Solar Panels Explained

So, there you have it! Now you know the different types of solar panels out there you can pick which ones suit you more.

To pick the panels that suit you think about your needs. If you want them to look more discrete or be lighter in weight, thin-film could be the option. Or, if you want the most efficiency then silicon crystal panels are the way to go.

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