Did you know that there are hundreds of brands and types of solar panels?

Each brand and type have its specific advantages and disadvantages. At Blue Raven Solar, we pride ourselves on only providing the highest quality and latest in solar technology to our customers. That way the solar panels not only look great on the customer’s house, but also provide them with the most electricity possible so that they can save big each and every month on their power bill! In today’s post, we’re excited to walk you through a general background of solar panels.

A Broad Overview of Solar Panel Type

To get a general understanding of solar panels, it is important to learn about the three main types of solar panels in today’s solar industry. They are monocrystalline, polycrystalline, and thin film. Each has its advantages and disadvantages, so let’s take a closer look:

Monocrystalline solar panels are made from crystalline silicon. They are the most expensive because they are the most space efficient. Because they can do more in a smaller space, they are the most common panel in the residential solar industry.

Polycrystalline work in the same way that monocrystalline panels do, except they are bigger, but less expensive. Usually used for larger projects like commercial solar or solar farms.

Thin Film panels use a different technology than crystalline silicon panels. The technology for this type of panels is still developing because they are newer. Currently they are the least energy efficient solar panel, but they are expected to improve in coming years.

As you can see, it makes the most sense to use monocrystalline panels for residential solar. Rarely do homeowners have large enough roofs for polycrystalline panels to be effective and thin film panels have yet to reach their full potential.

No matter the size or shape of their roof, any homeowner can reduce their power bill significantly by purchasing monocrystalline panels, which is why monocrystalline is our first and only choice when it comes to solar panels.

Solar Panel Size & Efficiency

Now that we can identify the main types of solar panels, let’s dive into a few more specific details. If you’ve done your research, you’ll know that each panel has a large number that comes after the brand name. This number represents the wattage of that specific panel. So if the panel name is followed by the number 250, that means this panel will produce 250 watts of electricity per hour in the perfect solar conditions.

Generally speaking monocrystalline panels will have a wattage range from about 170 to 365. In recent years, larger companies are trending towards larger wattage panels because it means that homeowners will need a smaller number of panels to offset their entire energy bill.

Another factor that is important to keep in mind when looking at solar panels is efficiency. The majority of 2020 solar panels will produce electricity at 14-20% efficiency. But what does that mean? Well, each solar panel is filled with dozens of solar cells. Solar cells are the small, silicon squares that absorb sunlight and transform that light into electricity for your home.

Generally, each panel will contain a total of 48, 60, or 72 solar cells. Because solar is a relatively new technology, scientists have not discovered how to get solar cells to perform at 100% efficiency. Thus, a solar panel that is 20% efficient means that that solar panel is capable of converting 20% of the light that comes from the sun at that given moment into electricity. This number might seem quite low, but as solar becomes more and more popular the technology is bound to make major improvements to overall efficiency.

Plus, solar is already cheap enough to where it gives owners a return on investment in less than a decade of owning a system. At Blue Raven Solar, we try our best to provide our customers with high efficiency panels that have larger wattage size. This way we can help our homeowners save big and have a system that looks clean on their house.

What We Think Looks Best

One of the major stereotypes that homeowners associate with solar panels is that they turn their house into a neighborhood eyesore. Because of this, many potential solar owners turn away from going solar. Although some panels aren’t the best looking, we have learned that black-on-black panels can look great on just about any type of roof. They are sleek, look good  with just about any roof color, and are low coverage.

Overall, they blend in really well and make a house look more modern. Many solar companies are investing large amounts of money into solar shingles and solar skin, which give solar a more aesthetic and natural feel. Unfortunately, these technologies are expensive and were mainly created to “hide” the panels on the homeowners roof. At Blue Raven Solar, homeowners can be proud of their black-on-black panels and improve the overall look of their home by going solar!

Blue Raven’s Commitment to a High-Quality Product

At Blue Raven Solar, we go the extra mile to make sure that our customers are satisfied with their solar system. If you’d like to learn more about our company and what we stand for, feel free to navigate our website or look at our ratings on websites like Solar Reviews, Best Company, and Google.