As explained in detail below, solar panel efficiency is decided by two main factors; the photovoltaic (PV) cell efficiency, based on the cell design and silicon type, and the sum total panel efficiency, based on the cell layout, configuration and panel size. Increasing the panel size may also increase efficiency as a result of creating a larger surface to capture sunlight, most abundant in powerful solar panels now achieving up to 700W power ratings.
Cell efficiency is determined by the cell structure and kind of substrate used, which is generally either P-type or N-type silicon. Cell efficiency is calculated by what is known as the fill factor (FF), which can be the utmost conversion efficiency of a PV cell at the optimum operating voltage and current.
The cell design plays an important role in panel efficiency. Key features range from the silicon type, busbar configuration, junction and passivation type (PERC). Panels built using high-cost IBC cells are the most efficient (20-22%) because of the high purity N-type silicon substrate and no losses from busbar shading. However, panels developed utilizing the latest monocrystalline PERC cells, N-Type TOPcon, and advanced heterojunction (HJT) cells have achieved efficiency levels well above 21%. Ultra-high efficiency Tandem Perovskite cells remain in the development phase but are anticipated to become commercially viable within the next few years.
Panels built using advanced ‘Interdigitated back contact'or IBC cells are the most efficient, accompanied by heterojunction (HJT) cells, TOPcon cells, half-cut and multi-busbar monocrystalline PERC cells, shingled cells and finally 60-cell (4-5 busbar) mono cells. 60 cell poly or multicrystalline panels are generally the smallest amount of efficient and equally the lowest cost panels.
The last two years has seen a rise in manufacturers releasing more efficient solar panels based on high-performance N-type heterojunction (HJT) cells. For the very first time, the efficiency of the most effective 6 panels has become above 22%. SunPower Maxeon panels still lead the pack, but only just, as the brand new Canadian Solar, Panasonic EverVolt H and REC Alpha Pure panels featuring N-type HJT cells are close behind. High-performance panels from SPIC and Meyer Burger using IBC cells have closed the gap, plus next-generation panels featuring multi-busbar (MBB) half-cut N-type TOPCon cells from Jinko Solar, Trina Solar and JA Solar have helped increase panel efficiency well above 25KW On-Grid Inverter 5G Series (IP-65)%.
More efficient panels using N-type cells also benefit from a lowered rate of light-induced degradation or LID, which is as low as 0.25% of power loss per year. When calculated within the 25-year life of the panel, a number of these high-efficiency panels are guaranteed to still generate 90% or even more of the first rated capacity, with regards to the manufacturer's warranty details.
The definition of efficiency is thrown around a great deal but a somewhat better panel doesn't always mean a better quality panel. Lots of people consider efficiency to be the main criteria when selecting a solar panel, but what matters most is the manufacturing quality which is related to real life performance, reliability, manufacturers service, and warranty conditions. Read more about selecting the very best quality solar panels here.
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