Solar PV technology

solar photovoltaic or solar PV technology is based on cells made from special materials called semiconductors, usually silicon. Solar cells have the property of absorbing the sunlight, creating a flow of electrons, that is, electricity.

Solar electricity is generated by solar modules that can be installed on your roof or your yard. When sunlight falls on the solar modules, an electrical current is created, ready to be transformed (by an inverter) in standard AC electricity, that is, the kind of power we all use in our homes. The efficiency of the PV technology depends on sunlight resources but also on elements like the orientation and tilt of the system, or the type of solar modules.

Solar electric modules

Photovoltaic electric solar panel PV technology is based on solar panels or modules. A solar module includes a group of solar cells wired together in a tempered and low reflective glass incorporated in an aluminum framed sheet.

PV technology can produce alternating current (AC), which is compatible with home appliances and uses.

PV technology: Monocrystalline and polycrystalline cells

There are two main solar PV technologies: polycrystalline and monocrystalline cells. Some large manufacturers use just one, others use both.

Solar Photovoltaic Cell Technology Monocrystalline photovoltaic technology is based on a silicon crystal grown in a single layer while solar polycrystalline PV technology is based on a silicon crystal grown in multiple layers. Typical multicrystalline solar cells have a slightly lower efficiency, and demand a slightly higher number of individual cells and a larger module.

Which Solar Photovoltaic technology to choose?

The fact that polycrystalline solar PV technology isn't as efficient as monocrystalline doesn’t mean much for our residential uses. A 200 watt module is a 200 watt module whether made from monocrystalline or polycrystalline cells. The determining element is the relation wattage/price.

Just prefer a major manufacturer and UL listed solar PV panels. That's an assurance of quality, when in doubt.

Thin film (amorphous) Solar PV technology

The thin-film solar products are made of glass or an equivalent material coated with amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), copper indium (gallium) or diselenide (CIS or CIGS). The most recent thin-film panels are no more silicon-based products like the polycrystalline and monocrystalline PV technology.

Thin film solar PV technology is very promising, and the future of solar electricity may well be in it, or in some related sort of it. Remarkable improvements in their efficiency in the next few years are possible. Thin film manufacturers like GE are investing largely in it (even Google is doing it).

Thin film type panels are unbreakable, flexible and light, and can be used in walls, windows and other locations where common solar PV panels can't. This may extend the uses of solar in a revolutionary way, once the technology is sufficiently efficient and cheaper.

By today's standards thin film technology has a very small efficiency per cell area, demanding larger panels. Their share of market and their uses are, for this reason, very limited.

Solar PV Trends

Solar PV is a well tested technology, without components particularly exposed to wear out or prone to corrosion or other significant problems. Maintenance of PV systems is minimal. You may have to clear the dust covering the panels, or eventually adjust their tilt to get a better angle and a higher solar PV efficiency but... that's all.

The true problem with solar PV technology is that it has evolved little over the last decades. Only now this technology seems on the verge of a great step forward. GE has predicted that solar-generated electricity will be cheaper than power from fossil fuels or from nuclear before 2017. Solar photovoltaic efficiency is expected to rise sharply in the next few years.

See: Solar Panels Location and Tilt

Sizing PV Solar Modules

In stand-alone photovoltaic solutions, the size of solar PV systems depends on needs, climate and on the wattage/efficiency of the solar modules.

See: Sizing Photovoltaic Size

PV manufacturers

Solar photovoltaic manufacturers are big and well know corporations: Sharp Solar, BP Solar, Photowatt, Siemens, Mitsubishi, Kyocera... Their solar PV panels are very alike in their efficiency.

See:
Solar Questions
Solar Guide
Solar Dealers and Companies

Solar Photovoltaic Technology & Sun Resources

Sun resources - expressed by the number of hours of sunlight - determines the solar PV efficiency.

See, for more information:
Solar PV Size
Solar Resources .

The best PV Technology

As said before, the monocrystalline PV technology is slightly more efficient than the polycrystalline one, but it is also slightly more expensive, and since we can get the same price-quality with either polycrystalline or monocrystalline panels, in practical terms there isn't a best...

See: Photovoltaic Technology