Mono And Polycrystalline Solar Panels

When you evaluate solar panels for your photovoltaic pv system you will encounter two main categories of panel options.

Mono and polycrystalline solar panels.

The mono solar panel is a bit better according to the manufacturer s spec. Monocrystalline solar panels mono and polycrystalline solar panels poly. But bear in mind that this specification is notoriously unreliable if you rely on the manufacturers to measure it. The low efficiency rating means you would need to install more thin film panels to produce the same amount of electricity as a mono or polycrystalline solar panel.

Polycrystalline solar cells are blended together from multiple pieces of silicon. Both types of panels produce energy from the sun but there are some key differences to be aware of. The efficiency of polycrystalline solar panels is somewhat lower but the benefit for customers is that this option is more affordable. This is a measure of how much the power drops when the panel gets hot solar panels like light but don t like heat.

Lastly mono panels have a uniform black look because the cells are made from a single piece of silicon. I personally think these look better than poly panels but obviously that is just a matter of preference. Because of this thin film solar panels don t really make sense for residential installations where space is limited.