Efficiency Of A Solar Pv Panel

To calculate the solar panel efficiency you need to divide the wattage per unit area pmax total area in sq m of the solar module by the stc irradiance value 1000w sq m.

Efficiency of a solar pv panel.

Working of a solar cell. The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system in combination with latitude and climate determines the annual energy output of the system. For example a solar panel with 20 efficiency and an area of 1 m 2 will produce 200 kwh yr at standard test conditions but it can produce more when the sun is high in the sky and will produce less in cloudy conditions or when the sun is low in the sky. The highest efficiency solar panels on the market today can reach almost 23 percent efficiency.

Improving this conversion efficiency is a key goal of research and helps make pv technologies cost competitive with conventional sources of energy. This is the simplest way to get any solar pv module s efficiency. Remarkable panel manufacturers of this technology are gcl trina solar and kyocera. The absorption depends on the energy of the photon and the band gap energy of the solar semiconductor material and it is expressed in electron volt ev.

On the other hand polycrystalline solar panels have average efficiency values between 12 and 18 and a lifespan of 23 27 years. The sunlight is a group of photons having a finite amount of energy. Most solar panels are between 15 and 20 efficient with outliers on either side of the range. Iconic solar panel manufacturers of monocrystalline technologies are sunpower lg and jinkosolar.

How to design and install a solar pv system. If a solar panel has 20 percent efficiency that means it s capable of converting 20 percent of the sunshine hitting it into electricity. The average efficiency of solar panels falls between the 17 to 19 percent efficiency range.