Comparing Solar Panels - By: magglio9gro

After deciding the amount of power we are planning to require, where we will be physically building the do it yourself solar power installation and how that translates in terms of the size of the equipment, we’re prepared to commence finding components and makes. Since they happen to be the most important and satisfying part of this whole problem, we will evaluate the solar panels themselves first. This will include an explanation of the different cell technologies, the voltage of the panels, temperature dependency, product reviews and why to choose one in lieu of the other.

There's three different kinds of solar cell technologies present on the market these days: mono crystalline, poly crystal and amorphous. These are related to the atomic metal/silicone building blocks that make up the solar panels themselves. Every panel is comprised of numerous discrete cells that are fused together, and the fabrication of these structures of crystal has a considerable effect on how the solar panels perform.

Monocrystalline is a fancy term for one crystal. For this technology every separate cell is harvested from a lone crystal. This causes the most homogeneous and consistent construction of a photo voltaic cell and is the most effective but costliest kind of panel. I describe it as optimal largely due to efficiency. Premium mono crystalline solar panels might have an efficiency of up to 20%, meaning that of all the solar energy that hits the solar cells, twenty percent of it is transformed into electricity, the remainder is lost as heat or reflected. A higher efficiency figure means the solar panel can be of a lesser size and nevertheless generate the same output as a panel not as efficient, important if you have space limitations such as on a recreational vehicle.

Poly crystal can be translated to many crystals. Even thought that is a simplification, this is almost like the bologna of the solar panel technologies, multiple separate crystal bits are combined to each other to create a single photo voltaic cell. You can tell just by looking at them since they've got a flaky, blue woodchip appearance to them, where a mono crystal photo voltaic panel will just be a solid, unvarying shade. Polycrystal panels are very widely used because they are more cost effective than monocrystalline.

Now that you’ve got a general plan of the size of panel energy you need as well as the type, you'll want to get going comparing real-life products. The initial point is obviously to learn about a few different panels that can cover your parameters. In the end I settled on 3 solar panels that could do the trick, Sanyo, BP or Canadian Solar. Every panel points out different variables I mentioned earlier. They all have different voltages. The BP panel is a lot larger per unit of energy and less efficient due to it being poly crystalline, but it’s also the lowest priced. It's also apparent that the monocrystal Sanyo HIP panel is unlike other manufacturers with its own unique fabrication. The Sanyo is slightly and therefor costs more.

So all that, how did I ultimately decide on the Sanyo HIT panels? It was a blend of several factors, most significantly them having the highest efficiency. Heat coefficients factoroed a role with me anticipating travelling in the southern US for long lengths of time. They're offered to be bought in my region. And they luckily were precisely the right size. But in terms of the product itself, I really do believe the Sanyo HIP panels are the best panels out there.

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