Types
Monocrystalline silicon
Most efficient
Monocrystalline is a single silicon wafer and is more efficient but also more expensive to produce (usually limited to commercial and residential applications), and are very fragile.
Polycrystalline silicon
Most common
Polycrystalline is made out of many silicon wafers, is cheaper and probably the most common type, but is not as efficient as the monocrystalline, and like the Mono-Crystalline silicon is also very fragile.
Amorphus silicon
Most durable
Most commonly using the p-i-n structure. A time-tested and very durable product, but not yielding the highest photovoltaic efficiency of the group. What does that mean? Panels with less photovoltaic efficiency require more area (square centimetres) of panel size to achieve the same amount of voltage and wattage. One advantage to this structure however, is improved power output in low light conditions.
How it works
When the electrons leave their position, holes are formed. When many electrons, each carrying a negative charge, travel toward the front surface of the cell, the resulting imbalance of charge between the cells front and back surfaces creates a voltage potential like the negative and positive terminals of a battery. When the two surfaces are connected through an external load, electricity flows.
The photovoltaic cell is the basic building block of a PV system. Individual cells can vary in size from about 1 cm (1/2 inch) to about 10 cm (4 inches) across. However, one cell only produces 1 or 2 watts, which isn’t enough power for most applications. To increase power output, cells are electrically connected into a packaged weather-tight module. Modules can be further connected to form an array. The term array refers to the entire generating plant, whether it is made up of one or several thousand modules. As many modules as needed can be connected to form the array size (power output) needed.
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