Well, this is an often asked question. Which is better – Monocrystalline or Polycrystalline solar panels?
As you would expect, which of the two is better depends on the situation.
Monocrystalline cells (and modules) usually have a much higher efficiency that polycrystalline cells and modules. As of mid 2016, some monocrystalline modules have reached efficiencies of about 22% while the best polycrystalline modules can at best boast about 18% at the module level.
Higher efficiencies mean a correspondingly lower area for monocrystalline solar modules than for polycrystalline of the same wattage. So, you need lesser areas, and also to a certain extent, your capital costs for balance of systems dependent on area reduce.
On the flip side, monocrystalline modules that have 20% efficiencies are much more costly than polycrystalline modules which exhibit efficiencies in the range 15-17%.
You Might Want to Check Out these Questions Too on Types of Solar Panels
- What is a Crystalline Silicon/c-Si Solar Cell/Module?-Here
- What is an Amorphous Silicon (a-Si) Solar Module? Is it Used Now?-Here
- What are CdTe (Cadmium Telluride ) Thin Film Solar Cells? Are These Commercially Available?-Here
- What are CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Selenide) Thin Film Solar Cells? Are These Available Commercially Today?-Here
- What is a CIS Solar Module? Are These Commercially Available Today?-Here
- What are Bifacial Solar Cells? Are they Commercially Available?-Here
- What are Concentrating Photovoltaics (CPV)? What are their Benefits?-Here
- What Single-junction Solar Cells? How are they Different from Conventional Solar Cells?-Here
- What is a Tandem Solar Cell? How is it Different from the Conventional Solar Cell?-Here
- What is a Transparent Solar Cell? And What are Its Advantages Over Conventional Cells?-Here
- What are Heterojunction Solar Cells? Are these Commercially Available?-Here
- What is the Smallest Sized Solar Panel Available Currently?-Here
- What is the Largest Capacity/Size Solar Panel Currently?-Here
- What are n-type Solar Cells? And how are they Different from p-type Cells?-Here
- What are Multi-junction Solar Cells? How are They Different from Conventional Solar Cells?-Here
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