Difference Between Polycrystalline And Multicrystalline Solar Panels

Tindo solar panels using polycrystalline cells.

Difference between polycrystalline and multicrystalline solar panels.

This silicon is then cooled and finally sliced into square wafers creating the polycrystalline shape. Manufacturers use silicon in making solar panels. A quality mono crystalline solar panel such as the suntech 190w also used by gold coast solar power solutions has a pmax rating of 0 48 o c though only a difference of 0 08 per o c this small amount adds up on hot summer days and makes the poly multi crystalline out perform the mono crystalline solar panel in real world australian. Monocrystalline solar cells have historically had a higher peak efficiency and were more readily available than polysilicon solar cells.

Polycrystalline panels have about 13 to 16 efficiency while monocrystalline panels have an efficiency rate of anywhere from 15 to 20. In addition when you seek polycrystalline solar panels for sale the sellers may highlight the blue hue of these panels compared to the monocrystalline panels black hue. Polycrystalline solar panels are also made from silicon. However instead of using a single crystal of silicon manufacturers melt many fragments of silicon together to form the wafers for the panel.

There were a number of reasons for this thinking. You would need a much larger array of polycrystalline panels to produce the same amount of energy than if you used monocrystalline which may not work for households with limited roof space. Polycrystalline are also known as multi crystalline solar panels and unlike monocrystalline solar panels the melted silicon to produce them is poured into a square mould. Therefore the primary component of a solar cell is silicon.

The key difference between monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels is that comparatively the monocrystalline solar panels are black in color and are more efficient and durable whereas polycrystalline solar panels are blue in color and are less efficient and less durable. However there are certain differences that relate to the types of technology used for the manufacturing of these panels. When solar pv first boomed in australia in 2009 2010 monocrystalline solar panels were thought to be superior to polycrystalline solar panels. The efficiency of polycrystalline solar panels is somewhat lower but the benefit for customers is that this option is more affordable.

Polycrystalline solar panels are also referred to as multi crystalline or many crystal silicon. At the wholesale level poly and mono modules from this category examples being canadian solar longi trina or jinko are around 50 cents per watt. In fact both polycrystalline and monocrystalline solar panels serve the purpose well by producing the required amount of electricity for your home.