Solar Panels Description
With the drastic increase in global warming and carbon pollution, conservation of the environment has become the biggest challenge and concern. Also, the increasing cost of energy products has become inconvenient for the users. To protect our environment from further degradation and to save cost, greener forms of energy need to be adopted. Solar energy is nature's gift to mankind. The electricity produced through solar energy is cost-saving, low maintenance and is also renewable. Solar panels harness solar energy by converting sunlight into electric current or heat energy. The conversion of solar energy into electricity is done through the solar photovoltaic (PV) effect. This electricity is used to light up our homes, offices etc. Another type of solar panels is used by solar thermal systems. They convert sunlight into heat energy that can be used for water heating or space heating.
The reason people are turning towards solar energy is because of its many benefits like low carbon footprint, high savings on electricity bills, low maintenance cost, easy replacement, increased property value and long life span. Solar energy is also available forever and can be harnessed in all areas of the world. Though solar energy is known for reducing carbon pollution, silicon emission from solar panels has been observed. This is because the silicon is the most commonly used material used as a semiconductor during the solar cell manufacturing process. At present, three types of solar panels are available, monocrystalline, polycrystalline (also called multi-crystalline), and thin-film. All three types of solar panels vary in their composition, cost, performance, appearance and the installations each are best suited for.
The monocrystalline solar panels are the most efficient and perform the best amongst the three types. They are also very aesthetically pleasing but the downside is high costs. Polycrystalline solar panels cost lesser than the monocrystalline panels but are also lower in performance and efficiency. Thin-film solar panels are also aesthetically pleasing as well as being lightweight, flexible and portable. But they are the lowest in performance and efficiency as compared to the other two types. Bifacial solar panels are also very popular these days. As the name suggests, they are capable of capturing sunlight from both sides of the panel hence producing double the power. Typically bifacial solar panels are manufactured with monocrystalline solar cells, but polycrystalline bifacial solar panels also exist.
