Solar Panels.
Solar panels provide renewable energy for your home, which helps the environment and reduces your electricity bill. But not all panels are alike. The material a panel is made of, what solar inverter it uses, and how it mounts to your roof determines what environments it works best in. Before you buy solar panels for your home, research the different factors and decide which option is right for you.
What is Solar Panel ?
A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module or solar panel is an assembly of photo-voltaic cells mounted in a framework for installation. Solar panels use sunlight as a source of energy to generate direct current electricity. A collection of PV modules is called a PV panel, and a system of PV panels is called an array. Arrays of a photovoltaic system supply solar electricity to electrical equipment.
How to Choose a Solar Panel?
Find out How You Choose Your New Solar Panel
Ok, so you decided to install solar panels at home and produce your own (and clean!) electricity but not sure on how to choose solar panels? Hopefully, this list will serve as a guide to make a good purchase. You should always keep in mind that a solar panel system is a long term investment, hence there are many aspects other than the price that you should take into account.
1. Solar Panel Cost
This is probably the first factor people consider when comparing solar panels. The solar panel cost is determined by different variables: the size (in Watts), the physical size, the brand, the quality of the materials, the durability (or warranty period) and any certifications the solar panel might have.
A key guide on how to choose a solar panel is to consider the cost. However, it shouldn’t be the one and only factor to be considered, since the least expensive panel might not be the most efficient and probably not the best option if you consider the long term. How to choose solar panels can be risky but, they have a long lifespan (more than 30 years), so it is more important to ensure a good quality system than choosing the cheapest option.
2. Solar Panel Quality
This takes into account how the panel is manufactured and the quality of the materials used to build the solar panel. There are different types of manufacturers producing panels that differ in quality, price, and efficiency. There are vertically integrated solar panel manufacturers which control each stage of the production process. They put a strong eye on quality and invest a lot into research and development (R&D). There are other manufacturers that only assemble panels, but usually don't manufacture their own cells and don’t invest in R&D. They use more human production than robotic, but produce the most affordable panels.
When choosing your solar panel supplier it is wise to check the companies’ reviews or history and see what experiences clients had with each of them. Since you will make a big investment, it is important to do a bit of research and see if clients are satisfied with the product and the customer service, and if the company did all that it has promised.
3. Energy Efficiency
Solar panel efficiency is how much of the light the panel receives is converted into electrical energy and hence, how much power your system will generate. The more efficient, the better (and more expensive). It is not always the best choice to get the biggest and most efficient solar panel, since you might end up spending more money than you should to cover your energy needs.
You should assess your requirements and find the panel that best suits your needs: this means not underestimate, but also not to overestimate your needs. Likewise, you don’t need a Ferrari to take your children to school (you can have it of course, but you can do the same spending a lot less).
4. Temperature Coefficient
This refers to the impact that heat has on a solar panel’s operational efficiency after installation. Since solar panel overheating accelerates their ageing, the lower the percentage per degree Celsius, the better.
5. Durability
This could be an indicator of the manufacturer’s confidence in its products. Usually, solar panels have a 25 year warranty (as long as the company operates). If the manufacturer does not offer a long warranty period, you could suspect that their product is not very good and hence they don’t want to take any responsibility. In this case, be careful not to be mislead by a tempting price since you might regret it in the long term.
Of course, it is important to properly maintain your solar panels to increase the lifespan of them. Fortunately, they are easy to take care of and don't require much maintenance.
6. Size
This takes into account the physical size and the size in Watts. You should make sure to install a solar panel system that is big enough to power all your appliances, and also that you have the space required to install it. The physical size of the panel will vary depending on how powerful the system is (the more Watts, the bigger) and the type of solar cells used to build the panel.
An average household would typically require a 4kW solar system. Watts are related to the output of the panel (a 200 Watt panel will generate 200 Watt-hours each hour under ideal conditions while a 100 Watt panel will generate 100 Watt hours) and they are directly related to the price of the system.
The wattage of the solar panel is probably the most important thing you need to get right since underestimating the number will lead to a lack of energy, and overestimating the wattage will lead to spending more money than you actually need.
7. Types of Solar Cells Used
There are different types of solar panels with different efficiencies. Although their names might sound confusing, it is good to know at least the name not to be out-of-topic if your supplier happens to mention this.
Monocrystalline silicon offers high efficiency and good heat tolerance characteristics with a small footprint. Polycrystalline (or multi-crystalline) silicon cell based solar panels are now the most popular choice in residential installs. There are also Amorphous (or thin-film) silicon cells, which use the least amount of silicon and are not very efficient. For an equivalent wattage, a crystalline panel will be smaller than an amorphous panel.
Find the Right Solar Panel System for Your Home
Now you have the tools to choose the solar panel system that best suits your needs and be immersed in the world of solar energy. You should always compare different offers and see which supplier you find more convincing.
