Mono Crystalline Silicon PV Modules:
Mono Crystalline Silicon PV Modules To make solar cells for monocrystalline solar panels, silicon is formed into bars and cut into wafers. These types of panels are called “monocrystalline” to indicate that the silicon used is single-crystal silicon.
Because the cell is composed of a single crystal, the electrons that generate a flow of electricity have more room to move. As a result, monocrystalline panels are more efficient than their polycrystalline counterparts.
Monocyrstalline cells are made from single crystals, grown in the shape of a round pillar. When these are sliced to make the cells, the resulting circular shape needs to have the edges trimmed off to pack neatly into a solar panel without gaps. It wastes too much material if you cut a square from the circle, so manufacturers go for a square shape with missing corners.
Advantages:
- Monocrystalline solar panels have the highest efficiency rates since they are made out of the highest-grade silicon. The efficiency rates of monocrystalline solar panels are typically 15-20%. SunPower produces the highest efficiency solar panels on the U.S. market today. Their E20 series provide panel conversion efficiencies of up to 20.1%.[3]Update (April, 2013): SunPower has now released the X-series at a record-breaking efficiency of 21.5%.
- Monocrystalline silicon solar panels are space-efficient. Since these solar panels yield the highest power outputs, they also require the least amount of space compared to any other types. Monocrystalline solar panels produce up to four times the amount of electricity as thin-film solar panels
- Monocrystalline solar panels live the longest. Most solar panel manufacturers put a 25-year warranty on their monocrystalline solar panels.
- Tend to perform better than similarly rated polycrystalline solar panels at low-light conditions.