More About The Different Types of Solar Panels

As solar power has recently become more popular in a larger range of uses, the basic part which is the solar panel has had many different alterations, or in other terms has been produced in many variations. These modifications have lead to the three different types of solar panels. And these are definitely usable in residential solar power systems.

The first type and probably the most efficient among the existing optionsis the monocrystalline solar panel, or more commonly called as the mono panel. This type is named so because it utilizes a single large sheet of crystalline silicon (single crystal, the crystal lattice of the entire sample is continuous and unbroken to the edges of the sample, with no grain boundaries.). This sheet is then cut out to fit the size of the panel, making one large single cell. The conductors that catch the electrons are metal strips that are laid over the entire cell. This type of panel is used in most residential solar power systems because of their efficiency, not to mention that fact that they are not really that expensive.

The next type is the polycrystalline panel, or the poly panel. This, on the other hand, uses a lot of small crystalline silicone cells instead of the large sheet of the mono panel. There are also two types of poly panels, the cast polysilicon and the string ribbon silicon.

Another type of panel used in residential solar power systems is the thin film panel. This type of panel is very different from the other two discussed earlier as it does not use any type of crystalline silicon. Instead, the silicon it uses is not in any crystalline form but rather it is applied directly on the panels, which allow it to use different types of semi-conductors. This is the cheapest among the various types of solar panels available because the manufacturing process is easier and costs less. Flexible panels are also possible to create. But this type of solar panel is known to be less effective than the crystalline silicon based ones because it has higher levels of impurity.