SOLAR POWER -THE CLEANLIEST SOURCE OF ENERGY..

SOLAR POWER -THE CLEANLIEST SOURCE OF ENERGY..

Renewable energy tend to be unlimited resources,nearly zero pollution and powered by natural resources like sun,wind and water.

But, what is the most cleanliest renewable source of energy?

Many of us aware that solar energy is the most promising and greener source of energy because of its zero pollution effect and offers a carbon free alternative to traditional fossils fuels.

   Sunlight is everywhere...

   Sunlight is unlimited....

   Sunlight is zero pollution...

However, due to high demand and less production of solar panel price cost grow inevitably .

Choosing efficient solar panels is necessary to maximize and valued your money.

Solar panels has many types depends on your required application and choice of preference.

Did you know that 90 percent of the worlds PV ( photovoltaics ) today are based on some variation of silicon.About 95 % of all shipments to the residential sector were crystalline silicon panels.
The silicon used in photovoltaic takes many forms.The main difference is the purity of the silicon.
What does silicon purity really means?The more perfectly aligned the silicon molecules are,the better the solar cell will be at converting solar energy into electricity .

Here's the list of different type of solar panels:

- MONOCRYSTALLINE SOLAR CELL
-POLYCRYSTALLINE  SOLAR CELL
-STRING RIBBON SOLAR CELL
-THIN-FILM SOLAR CELL
-AMORPHOUS SILICON SOLAR CELL
-CADMIUM TELLURIDE  SOLAR CELL
-COPPER INDIUM GALLIUM SOLAR CELL
-BUILDING INTEGRATED PHOTOVOLTAICS

On the other hand,majority of solar panel in outside market are monocrystalline and polycrystalline.Here's the difference of two solar panels considering its efficiency ,operating temperature,durability and space installation.


               MONOCRYSTALLINE SILICON SOLAR CELL

Monocrystalline solar panel

- Also called as single-crystalline silicon ( single-crystal-Si )are quite easily recognized by an external even coloring and uniform look,indicating high purity silicon.
Monocrystalline solar cell are made out of silicon ingots,which are cylindrical in shape.To optimized performance and lower cost of a single monocrystalline solar cell,four sides are cut-out of the cylindrical ingots to make silicon wafers,which is what gives monocrystalline panels their characteristic look.

Advantage of Monocrystalline Solar Panels.

• Highest efficiency rates since they are made out of the highest grade silicon.The efficiency rates of monocrystalline solar panels are the are typically 15 - 20 %. 
• This solar panels is space efficient and yield the highest power output produce up to four times the amount of electricity as thin film solar panels.
• Monocrystalline solar panels live the longest ,tend to perform better than similarly rated polycrystalline solar panels at low light condition.

Disadvantage of Monocrystalline solar panels .

• The most expansive solar panel
• If the solar panel is partially covered with shade,dirt or snow the entire circuit can be break down.
• This panel also more efficient in warm weather.

POLY-CRYSTALLINE SILICON SOLAR CELLS.

Polycrystalline solar panel

-The first solar panel based on polycrystalline silicon,which also known as polysilicon  (p-si) and multi-crystalline silicon (mc-si),were introduces to the market in 1981.
Raw silicon is melted and poured into square mold,which is cooled and cut into perfectly square wafers.

Advantage of polycrystalline solar panels.

• The process used to make polycrystalline silicon is simpler and cost less,the amount of waste silicon is less compared to monocrystalline.
• Tend to have slightly lower heat tolerance than monocrsytalline solar panels.This technically means that they perform slightly worse than mono-crystalline solar panels in high temperature.Heat can affect the performance of solar panels and shorten their lifespan. 

Disadvantage of of poly-crystalline Solar cell.

• The efficiency of the polycrystalline - based solar panels is typically 13- 16 %.Because of lower silicon purity.
• Lower space efficiency .You generally need to cover a larger surface to output the same electrical power as you would with a solar panel made of mono-crystalline silicon. 

STRING RIBBON SOLAR CELL

String ribbon solar cell

- String ribbon solar panels are also made out of poly-crystalline silicon.String ribbon is the name of a manufacturing technology
that produces a form of poly-crystalline silicon.Temperature-resistant wires are pulled through molten silicon,which result in very thin silicon ribbons.

Advantage of string ribbon solar cell.

• The manufacturing of string ribbon solar panels only uses half the amount silicon as monocrystalline manufacturing .This contributes to lower cost.

Disadvantages of string ribbon solar cell

• The manufacturing of  string ribbon solar cell is significantly more energy extensive and more costly.
• The efficiency is at best on par with the low-end polycrystalline solar panel at around 13-14%,the panels have the lowest efficiency of any the main types of crystalline based solar panels.

THIN FILM SOLAR CELL ( TFSC )

Thin film solar cell

-Depositing one or several thin layers of photovoltaic material onto a substrate is the basic gits of how thin film solar cell are manufactured. They are also known as thin film photovoltaic cell
( TFPV ).The different types of thin-film solar cell can be categorized by which photovoltaic material is deposited onto the substrate.

• Amorphous silicon (a-Si )
• Cadmium telluride ( CdTe )
• Copper indium gallium selenide ( CIS/CIGS )
• Organic photovoltaic cells (OPC)

Depending on the technology ,thin film module prototype have reached efficiencies between 7-13% and production modules operate at about   9 - 16%.

Advantage of Thin Film solar cell

• Mass production is simple.This makes them and potentially cheaper to manufacture than crystalline - based solar cells.
• Can be made flexible which opens up many new potential application.
• High temperature and shading have less impact in solar panel performance. 

Disadvantage of Thin film solar cell.

• Not useful in residential application,They are cheap but required a lot of space.
• Thin Film solar panels tend to degrade faster than mono-crystalline and poly-crystalline solar panel.    

Solar panel based on amorphous silicon,cadmium telluride and copper indium gallium selenide are currently  the only thin film technologies that are commercially available in the market.

      AMORPHOUS SILICON (a-Si ) Solar Cells

Amorphous silicon solar cell

The electrical power output is very low,solar cell based on amorphous silicon have traditionally only been used for small scale application such as in pocket calculator.

With a manufacturing technique called "stacking" several layers of amorphous silicon solar cells can be combined,which result in higher efficiency rates typically around 6-8%.

CADMIUM TELLURIDE ( CdTe ) Solar cell 

Cadmium telluride solar cell

Cadmium telluride is the only thin film solar panel technology that has surpassed the cost -efficiency of crystalline silicon solar panels in a significant portion of the market.

The efficiency of solar panel based on cadmium telluride usually operates in the range of  9-11%.

COPPER INDIUM GALLIUM SELENIDE ( CIS/CIGS) solar cell

Copper indium gallium selenide

Compared to the other thin film technologies above,CIGS solar cells have showed the most potential in terms of efficiency .These solar cells contain less amount of the toxic material cadmium that is found in CdTe solar cell.

The efficiency rate of the CGIS solar panels typically operate in the range 10-12%.

Now, that we already mentioned all the different types of solar panels we as end user will choose the best types of solar panel base on what application we need.

Always take into account the safety rather than aesthetic of installation. Authorized or license practitioner are the best person qualified to do your job..

                       Good Luck !!  Be free to energy...


References: www.wikipedia.com