3 Types of Solar Panels — 2020

The solar panel options available are of three types:

1. Monocrystalline,

2. Polycrystalline (also known as multi-crystalline),

3. Thin-film.

These solar panels vary in their make, performance, appearance, and which installation they’re best suited for.

When electricity is produced, solar cells which are made from a semiconducting material converts light into electricity. A common material used as a semiconductor during the manufacturing of solar cells is silicon.

Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline solar panels

Both the monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels have silicon wafers in their cells. In order to build a monocrystalline or polycrystalline panel, these wafers are assembled into multiple rows and columns to form a rectangle, covered with a glass sheet, and framed together.

Even though both these types of solar panels have silicon in their cells, monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels vary in the precise silicon composition. While monocrystalline solar cells are cut from a single, pure crystal of silicon, polycrystalline solar cells are made of fragments of silicon crystals that are melted together in a mold before being cut into wafers.

Thin-film solar panels

Unlike monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels, thin-film panels are made from a variety of materials. The most prevalent type of thin-film solar panel is made from cadmium telluride (CdTe). To make this type of thin-film panel, manufacturers place a layer of CdTe between transparent conducting layers that help capture sunlight. This type of thin-film technology also has a glass layer on the top for protection.

Thin-film solar panels are also made from amorphous silicon (a-Si), which is similar to the composition of monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels. Though these thin-film panels use silicon in their composition, they are not made up of solid silicon wafers. Rather, they’re composed of non-crystalline silicon placed on top of glass, plastic, or metal.