Poly vs MonoPERC Panels: Which should you get ?
Updated: Feb 7
A question which nearly everyone has is which type of panel to install on their rooftop. As solar Panels are the most vital components of any Solar PV Plant, naturally anyone would want to make the right choice for them.
Polycrystalline:
Polycrystalline solar cells are widely used in India due to their price factor and their use in subsidy cases. They come at lower price tag than the Mono perc solar panels and though their efficiency is a bit lower, India receives ample of sunlight during the year and thus the difference in generation is not as high as that in cold countries where Mono perc performs much more better than poly crystalline.
In case you want to opt for subsidy while installing solar from the government of India, then DCR solar panels are mandated by them and you would need to go with Poly solar panels in this case as India manufactures only poly solar cells. DCR is Domestic Content Requirement means that the solar cells are completely made in India and not imported from outside and assembled here.
Mono PERC solar cells:
Firstly, let us clarify on the PERC part of the name. Mono PERC solar cells are nothing but Mono crystalline solar cells but have additional reflective layer below them to allow the light which is not captured by the solar cells in first go, to have additional chance to capture it to convert it into electricity. Passivated Emitter and Back Cell (PERC), as they are called, employs dielectric passivation film on the rear surface of the cells. Therefore, the front surface of PERC cells collects sunlight while the back surface absorbs scattered or reflected light giving higher efficiency to the normal mono crystalline solar panels.
Thinking globally, and ignoring the subsidy guideline which is specific to India, these solar panels have a lot of demand due to them being more efficient and covering less space for higher output meaning higher energy density. Thus, all the research and development globally is currently going on to improve Mono perc solar cells to higher and higher standards.
Few premium brands in the world like Longi, manufacture only Mono PERC solar cells instead of poly due to their efficiency advantage.
Install Poly solar panels if -
- You want to avail subsidy from them government of India (keep in mind this is a very lengthy process and it might take even 3-4 years for the amount to reflect in your bank)
- You don’t have any space constraints on your roof and have ample of space
- You are looking for more economical solar plant solution
Install MonoPERC solar panels if -
- You are ready to give up subsidy to get higher efficiency solar panels which over their lifetime would help you save much more money than the subsidy amount but with higher upfront cost
- You have limited space on roof and want to install solar panels in as less space as possible
- You case about longer warranty timeline offering
- You live in location where there is comparatively higher cloud cover over the year or partial shadowing issues as Mono PERC has higher output in low light conditions
- The location has high rise structures or trees nearby as Half cut or Third cut Mono PERC solar cells counter with such issues very efficiently
A bit more geeky details below on how these two cells are made:
The most abundant element present on earth is Silicon, what we know as sand. This sand is to converted to 99.99% pure silicon crystals through a very complex purification process. It then, can be used in production of solar cells. This raw silicon is then converted to gaseous compound form, which can be mixed with Hydrogen to get a highly purified Poly-Crystalline silicon. These silicon ingots, as they are called as, are reshaped and are cut into very fine thin slices called as silicon wafer.
If this chemical process of silicon crystals is taken one step further, the Polycrystalline cells will become Monocrystalline cells. This method is called as the Czochralski method, and it produces cylindrical ingots. Four sides are then cut into these ingots, and thus there is a lot of wastage in cutting. This is the reason you will see mono-crystalline cells don't have a perfect square shape.
The difference between Polycrystalline and Monocrystalline cells is their difference between internal crystalline lattice structure. In Polycrystalline cells, multi crystals are randomly oriented.
These silicon wafers are then doped N-type and P-type to get a solar cell which can generate electricity when sunlight falls on it.
The technology used to manufacture Polycrystalline panels is cheaper, thus these cells are available at a lower cost. This allows higher system plant size to be installed in the cost of Monocrystalline panel system. They have a blue hue.
Monocrystalline panels performance deviation in dimmer light or high heat conditions is lower than their counterparts. They have a black hue.
If you want to be the part of BigWit solar rooftop family, you can give us a call on 7082955224 or send us a mail on sales@bigwitenergy.com. BigWit Energy is one of the best solar companies in Maharashtra, Chandigarh, Mohali, Punjab, Panchkula and all of North India and we offer EMI plans of upto 3 years for our customers too pan India!
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