Solar panel efficiency is calculated as the amount of electricity that a module can generate after exposure to a certain quantity of solar energy. This is normally expressed as a percentage that represents the amount of sunlight that is converted into usable electrical energy by a module.
What is available today are natural sunlight units that are capable of converting between 6% and 20% of the total solar energy that they are exposed to. A module that has an efficiency level of 9% is expected to yield 9 parts for every 100 that goes through the photovoltaic cells for example.
However, that is usually not the end of the story. Those modules that have higher conversion ratios are more expensive than those with lower ones. Sometimes the difference in price can be so much that the ones that have lower ratios become more economical when you calculate the cost per watt produced.
The manufacturers have no choice in this really. This is because production of photovoltaic (PV) cells such crystalline silicon, which is more energy productive, is an expensive affair. That is the reason why some factories opt to make modules having thinner cells of solar-grade silicon even if cutting reduces the energy conversion ratio.
The thin-celled units can be produced in modules having a larger surface area to maximize energy input which is okay to those who have such spaces to spare. However, those who are pressed for space and still need solar energy are faced with the dilemma of buying cheap, inefficient and bulky modules or purchasing expensive but compact and efficient kits.
Other times, the question may not be limitation in space but practicability. If one lives in a very cold and cloudy place one may consider installing highly efficient solar units to maximize energy conversion. If other power sources are accessible, one should compare the cost per watt and assess the period which shall elapse before the modules cover their own cost.
Where one lives in places not covered by the power grid and there is no hope of getting such a connection in the near future, it makes a lot of sense to install modules with a high energy conversion ratio. This in the end will turn out to be economical since the cost per watt shall be stretched over a long period of time becoming negligible as is the case with modern solar units that last for 20 to 30 years.
The trick has always been to come up with cheap and easy to produce PV cells that exhibit conversion ratios of up to 80% or thereabouts. Nanotechnology is being used for these purposes and it is said to be working in test cases. There is also the question of transfer and conversion of the captured energy to prevent voltage loss before usage. Micro-inverters have been applied to convert DC into AC right at the modules.
Scientists are scratching their heads in many laboratories across the world and every now and again you will hear that this or that facility has come up with a novel idea to beat these problems. What now remains to be done is for an efficient concept to be commercialized at a cost that achieves parity with other energy sources such as nuclear.
What is available today are natural sunlight units that are capable of converting between 6% and 20% of the total solar energy that they are exposed to. A module that has an efficiency level of 9% is expected to yield 9 parts for every 100 that goes through the photovoltaic cells for example.
However, that is usually not the end of the story. Those modules that have higher conversion ratios are more expensive than those with lower ones. Sometimes the difference in price can be so much that the ones that have lower ratios become more economical when you calculate the cost per watt produced.
The manufacturers have no choice in this really. This is because production of photovoltaic (PV) cells such crystalline silicon, which is more energy productive, is an expensive affair. That is the reason why some factories opt to make modules having thinner cells of solar-grade silicon even if cutting reduces the energy conversion ratio.
The thin-celled units can be produced in modules having a larger surface area to maximize energy input which is okay to those who have such spaces to spare. However, those who are pressed for space and still need solar energy are faced with the dilemma of buying cheap, inefficient and bulky modules or purchasing expensive but compact and efficient kits.
Other times, the question may not be limitation in space but practicability. If one lives in a very cold and cloudy place one may consider installing highly efficient solar units to maximize energy conversion. If other power sources are accessible, one should compare the cost per watt and assess the period which shall elapse before the modules cover their own cost.
Where one lives in places not covered by the power grid and there is no hope of getting such a connection in the near future, it makes a lot of sense to install modules with a high energy conversion ratio. This in the end will turn out to be economical since the cost per watt shall be stretched over a long period of time becoming negligible as is the case with modern solar units that last for 20 to 30 years.
The trick has always been to come up with cheap and easy to produce PV cells that exhibit conversion ratios of up to 80% or thereabouts. Nanotechnology is being used for these purposes and it is said to be working in test cases. There is also the question of transfer and conversion of the captured energy to prevent voltage loss before usage. Micro-inverters have been applied to convert DC into AC right at the modules.
Scientists are scratching their heads in many laboratories across the world and every now and again you will hear that this or that facility has come up with a novel idea to beat these problems. What now remains to be done is for an efficient concept to be commercialized at a cost that achieves parity with other energy sources such as nuclear.
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