Do you know how many types of solar panels there are?
----------When you decide to install a solar power solution, which type of solar panel should you choose?
With the advancement of technology and policy support, the global solar energy market is growing rapidly. According to statistics, the global new photovoltaic installed capacity will reach about 190GW in 2022, and the market is moving towards energy conservation and emission reduction. Governments of various countries have generally introduced incentive policies such as subsidies, tax exemptions and green credits to promote the development and utilization of solar energy. Solar energy is not only used in residential and commercial fields, but also in agriculture, transportation, outdoor equipment and other fields. Solar energy is a technology and method to meet energy needs by converting sunlight into electricity through photovoltaic panels。
When you want to build a solar home, now you need to understand the types of photovoltaic panels. You have heard that there are different types of solar panels before, but what are they?
First, photovoltaic panels should be classified mainly according to the materials used. For example, the common ones are monocrystalline silicon, polycrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon. Monocrystalline silicon may be efficient but also costly, while polycrystalline silicon may be cheaper but not as efficient as monocrystalline silicon. Amorphous silicon may be cheaper but less efficient, and may be used in places where space requirements are not high? Then, there may be photovoltaic panels made of other materials, such as thin-film solar cells. Types of thin films may include cadmium telluride (CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIGS). These thin-film cells may be relatively thin and light, suitable for building integration or flexible applications? In addition, are there any new or still under development photovoltaic technologies? For example, organic solar cells or perovskite solar cells. These may still be in the laboratory stage, but their efficiency will increase rapidly or their cost will be lower? In addition, if classified by structure or use, are there bifacial photovoltaic modules? This module can absorb light on both sides, which may improve the overall efficiency. Or concentrated photovoltaics (CPV), which use lenses or mirrors to concentrate sunlight, require high-precision tracking of the sun’s position, but are very efficient. There may also be some photovoltaic panels for special applications, such as flexible photovoltaic modules, which can be bent and suitable for use on curved surfaces or mobile devices, or transparent photovoltaic panels, which can be used on windows and can both transmit light and generate electricity.
1. Crystalline silicon photovoltaic panels are divided into monocrystalline silicon solar panels and polycrystalline silicon solar panels. They are the most widely used solar panels in the solar energy solutions market, accounting for more than 80% of the market share. They are deeply loved by people because of their high efficiency and low cost.
Monocrystalline silicon solar panels are cut from high-purity monocrystalline silicon cylindrical ingots, with a uniform dark blue or black surface. Its commercial efficiency is about 18%-24% (PERC technology can reach more than 22%). Its advantages are high efficiency, long life (can be used for more than 25 years), and high space utilization, but at the same time, the cost is also high, and the manufacturing energy consumption is also high. It is generally used in space-constrained scenarios such as our residential rooftop power stations and large ground power stations.
Polycrystalline silicon solar panels are made of molten silicon ingots cut into square silicon wafers with blue spots on the surface. Its commercial efficiency is about 15%-20%. Its advantages are low cost and simple production process. This is also the choice of most of us, but at the same time it is less efficient and not as beautiful as monocrystalline silicon. It is usually used in cost-sensitive projects such as distributed photovoltaics and large power stations. If your budget is insufficient, you can choose this friendly solution.
2. Thin-film photovoltaic panels are classified into amorphous silicon solar panels, cadmium telluride solar panels, copper indium gallium selenide solar panels, and copper zinc tin sulfur solar panels. Thin-film photovoltaic panels are known for their light weight and good weak-light performance.
Amorphous silicon solar panels use less silicon material and can be made into flexible components. The commercial efficiency is about 6%-8%. They are generally used in calculators, small electronic devices, building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) and other fields.
Cadmium telluride solar panels are low-cost and have good low-light performance, but the product contains cadmium, which threatens our health and is controversial among environmental organizations. Although the commercialization rate is as high as 16%-18%, I do not recommend that you use solar photovoltaic panels containing cadmium.
Copper indium gallium selenide solar panels are highly efficient, flexible, and non-toxic, and are widely loved by people, but they are expensive, with a commercialization rate of 12%-15%, and are generally used in building BIPV and portable devices. Copper zinc tin sulfur solar panels do not contain rare metals and are relatively environmentally friendly, but the technology is not yet mature.
3. The new photovoltaic panels are divided into perovskite solar panels, organic solar panels and quantum dot solar panels. They are still in the research and development stage, but they have great potential in the future.
The efficiency of perovskite solar panels is improving very quickly, exceeding 33%, and the cost is very low, but the stability is also relatively poor. However, it can be used in conjunction with crystalline silicon stacking and may disrupt the market in the future.
Organic solar panels are known for their flexibility and are generally translucent, but their efficiency is extremely low, at about 8%-10% at commercialization. They are often used in wearable devices in our lives and in architectural glass in buildings.
Quantum dot solar panels use quantum dots to tune the light absorption band, and his laboratory efficiency exceeds 18%.
4. Special structure panels are divided into heterojunction (HJT) panels, back contact panels (IBC) and multi-junction solar panels
Heterojunction (HJT) panels are able to combine crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon layers, with an efficiency of up to 24% and good high-temperature resistance.
Back contact solar panels (IBC), the electrodes are all on the back, and care should be taken to reduce shading when using them. The working efficiency is 25%, and they are used in high-end distributed photovoltaics
The multi-layer materials of multi-junction solar panels can absorb light in different bands, and the efficiency in the laboratory reaches 47% (mainly for space applications).
5. There are also some special application modules, bifacial modules, flexible modules, transparent photovoltaic modules and concentrated photovoltaics (CPV).
Bifacial modules can generate electricity on both sides, and can increase power generation by 10%-30% when used on highly reflective surfaces (such as snow).
Flexible module films (such as CIGS) or crystalline silicon sheets are used on car roofs, tents, and curved buildings.
Transparent photovoltaic modules have adjustable light transmittance and are used in building windows or greenhouses.
Concentrated photovoltaics (CPV) use lenses to focus light and need to track the sun. The efficiency exceeds 40%, but the cost is high and is used in areas with high direct light (such as deserts).
The solar panel market is growing rapidly, with technological progress and policy support being the main driving factors. Different types of solar panels have different demands in the market, and their specific application scenarios are also different.
But what I want to tell you is that most people currently choose crystalline silicon photovoltaic cells. Monocrystalline silicon solar panels are widely used in various solar power generation projects around the world because of their high efficiency, durability and stability. Despite their high cost, with technological progress and the expansion of production scale, the cost of monocrystalline silicon solar panels has gradually decreased, becoming the most mainstream in the market, occupying more than 80% of the market share. Because it can provide us with better efficiency and cost. When we choose photovoltaic panels, we need to consider efficiency, cost, installation environment and technical maturity.