LET’S GO SOLAR

Renewable energy has been around for many years.

However, it has received more attention in recent times due
to the impending threat of climate change to the existence
of the whole planet. Now more countries and utilities are
trying to get behind it. Solar energy is the most sought-
after option among all the other choices of renewable
energy due to the abundance of sunlight.

However, the solar option is less efficient compared to conventional means of

producing energy. In this article, we will discuss what solar efficiency entails, the
factors that affect this efficiency, and what is being done to increase the
productivity of solar cells and panels.
As soon as you use the word solar, we know the sun must be involved somewhere and since
it’s not going anywhere anytime soon, it’s clearly a good idea to utilize it where we can.
Harvesting solar energy has been around since literally time began, so it’s only natural that
we would still be using it as an energy source today. Solar thermal panels and solar PV
panels expertly transform the sun's rays into usable electricity and heat. If you’re like most
people, you probably don’t realise that these are two completely different types of
renewable energy. Although they both rely upon the sun to collect energy, the similarities
end there.
Direct solar power is generated from solar rays shining down on the surface of the earth.
These rays can currently be collected by two methods – via solar PV panels that we see on
many a roof top or solar farms, and by solar thermal systems.

The two types of solar panels are solar thermal panels and solar PV (solar photovoltaic)
panels. Although they may look similar, they have very different functions.

In a nutshell, solar thermal technology produces heat, whilst solar PV produces electricity.

SOLAR PV PANELS
Photovoltaic solar (PV) was first created in 1839 by French physicist Edmond Becquerel,
who was studying the chemical reaction between sunlight and metal.

These days, solar panels are much refined and are increasingly common thanks to the need
to transition to clean renewable energy sources.

Domestic solar panels are installed on roofs, since that makes the ideal space to capture and
absorb as much sun as possible. This way, they can be linked in to the home directly too.

Solar PV panels can be different sized rectangular sheets, and look a bit like black glass.

How do Solar Panels Work?

Made from two layers of a semi-conducting material and silicon, solar PV panels are able to
produce an electric field when exposed to sunlight.

When sun connects to the surface of the Solar PV, a small voltage of electricity is created.

This electricity direct current (DC) travels to an inverter, which transforms it to AC

(alternating current). You might recognise AC as the ‘language’ of many of your home
appliances.

Electricity is diverted to your fuse box and on to these appliances for use around the house,
or if not needed, re-routed to the electric grid.

In fact, there are two types of residential solar PV which are either

 Stand alone off grid panels

 Connected to the national grid via an inverter

The advantage to being ‘grid-connected’ is that you can not only sell your surplus energy
back to said grid, you can rely on the grid for energy should you need to.

For those who choose to be completely off-grid, they need batteries on site to ensure they
have enough power for their homes.

3 Types of Solar Panel

For solar PV there are three main types. These are:

1. Monocrystalline
2. Polycrystalline
3. Thin film solar cells

The difference between these types of solar panel, other than price, is their level of
efficiency and flexibility.

ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR PANELS

Solar PV panels in the home carry huge advantages, not least of all the ability to provide
your home with up to 60% of clean renewable energy. Obviously this counts as a significant
reduction of your carbon footprint.

The energy that solar PV generates goes well beyond light switches too. You can expect to
power all your high consumption appliances like your fridge or microwave.

Many homeowners find that their solar PV panels produce more electricity than they can
use.

That means they’re able to sell excess electricity back to the grid, giving them an ongoing
income. This makes solar PV panels a sound investment for the long term.

Another option for excess electricity is to use battery storage for solar panels, which is a
savvy way to make sure your entire supply is generated through clean energy, whatever the
season or time of day.
And because they’re a relatively simple piece of kit, solar PV panels are low maintenance
and can even last for up to 50 years.

Solar panels obviously work best during the summer months, but are quite capable of
producing energy throughout the year. The materials they’re made of mean they can never
freeze over in winter either.

SOLAR THERMAL PANELS

The whole purpose of domestic solar thermal is to provide hot water.
Solar thermal energy has been around since 1896 when essentially black painted boxes were
filled with water. The water heated up in the sun and hey presto, the earliest example of a
solar thermal collector was created.
Since then solar thermal panels have evolved but still serve that same purpose of generating hot
water for homes and buildings.

How do Solar Thermal Panels Work

These solar heating panels are comprised of tubes filled with a combination of glycol and
antifreeze. These liquid filled tubes are aligned next to one another that are placed on the roof
to absorb heat from the sun.
Once hot, the liquid is transported to a copper coil which in turn warms the hot water tank or
cylinder, ready for use.  Solar thermal energy storage is kept as efficient as possible, via the use
of a pump which moves the liquid through the system in order to prevent the liquid from cooling
down the water in the tank on cold days.

ADVANTAGES OF SOLAR THERMAL PANELS

Solar thermal hot water heating just makes sense.
A key advantage to thermal solar panels is their simplistic design. That means low maintenance
costs and easy to fix.
Again, like all renewable energy, you’ll be saving on your energy bills. Solar thermal panels
cost roughly the same as solar PV panels, but we’ll detail more on that below.
Unlike solar PV panels, Solar thermal heating panels don’t need much space. In fact they only
need 3x4 m² as opposed to 10 m² that solar PV need. That’s generally because they are more
efficient, able to turn 90% of the suns radiation to heat.
A solar thermal hot water system is super-efficient – as it turns out up to 70% more efficient at
collecting sunray heat than PV.
It is also possible to store generated energy because any domestic thermal system will always
have a water tank to store the heat.  
What is Solar Cell Efficiency?
In simple terms, efficiency of solar cells is based on energy from sunlight that is converted into electricity
through the process of photovoltaics. An efficient solar panel can generate more electricity by occupying
less space. The technology is still in the process of evolution and science tells us that there is no way to
make a system with 100% efficiency. However, solar cell efficiency can improve on its current ratings.

Recent Developments in Increasing the Efficiency of Solar Panels

Around the world, the average solar panel efficiency lingers between 10% to 15%. Scientists and
researchers are trying to boost these numbers. In March this year, researchers in Japan set new records to
achieve the efficiency of 26.6% of mass-produced solar panels. The previous record of 22.04% was set in
2015 by Tesla.
Japanese researchers used the approach of thin-film heterojunction optimisation to achieve this feat. They
accomplished this increased level of efficiency by placing low-resistance electrodes towards the end of the
cell, away from the exposed site. This placement helped in maximizing the number of photons accumulated
from the front of the cell.
Further progress was witnessed when engineers at the University of New South Wales extended the
efficiency of solar cells to nearly its theoretical levels. They reached the efficiency of 34.5% with their
photovoltaic cells. The engineers achieved it by embedding a mini-module or cell in a prism for extracting
the optimal level of energy from sun rays. The prism carried out this task by dividing the incoming sunrays
into four bands.