Solar Installation Series | 1. Understanding Residential Solar Products
There are a handful of specific solar products for home owners to choose from rather than thousands of options. This makes solar product purchase decision making much more straightforward. Without a doubt as more R&D is conducted we will see more solar products that are both energy efficient and cost effective in years to come. The market has reached a certain capacity and stability that indicates solar for residential application can only improve from here. This is a very basic, clear and thorough overview of solar product options for your home, giving you some insight about what to think about before purchase.
Mono-crystalline PV panels
Mono-crystalline silicon or c-Si PV panels have been used for decades and remain the most cost friendly and energy efficient panels on the market for residential and commercial roof installation. Mono indicates that a single silicon crystal is used in each solar cell. Per square foot considerations also make this the most efficient of the solar panels available for homeowners with roof space considerations. Today many thin film solar products are hot on the market and manufacturing cost per watt is making thin film a viable option for residential installation, however most thin films produce far less energy than a c-Si PV panel. c-Si PV panels range in the 15-25% energy efficiency range, the best production on the solar market still. Typically 36 solar cells are soldered together to create a single solar panel and the entire unit is then encased in high durability glass that can weather the elements. Most solar panels carry a warranty backing 20-25 years of good use from a panel. c-Si production costs have fallen over the years which means cost per panel should remain lower for home owners, another plus. This technology also remains dominant in the solar market globally by a significant margin, compared to developing thin film solar technologies. When shopping for c-Si solar panels for your home look for max efficiency per square foot cost.
Amorphous Thin Film Solar
Amorphous silicon or a-Si thin film is the most well recognized thin film solar and also uses silicon in a slightly different form. Today solar thin film R&D technologies are producing a wide array of products that are cost effective to manufacture. The plus side with a-Si panels is cost because they use far less silicon and other materials to manufacture. a-Si uses silicon about 1 micrometer in thickness compared to about 150-200 micrometers for a regular c-Si solar panel. They create electric energy on average in the 8% range, a fairly significant difference from c-Si PV panels. a-Si thin film covering the same surface area as c-Si PV panels, would produce under half the energy. So for the sake of what’s available for homeowners today, understanding this basic thin film vs. c-Si PV panel energy production comparison is a good rule of thumb. We’d never say don’t use thin film for your home because it’s less efficient at generating energy, as it has tremendous value in a variety of applications for small scale charging needs, specific projects where a flexible material would benefit and in the form of solar shingles.
Solar Shingles
Solar shingles are part of a larger sector within the solar industry called BIPV or building integrated solar pv. Solar shingles serve the same function as regular asphalt roof shingles but with the added capacity to generate electrical energy for your home. a-Si or Amorphous silicon is fused to a flexible backing to create the shingle and are simply nailed to the roof like regular shingles. An electrician finishes the installation of solar shingles by wiring the shingles in groups to your homes electrical system. In Canada the price tag on solar shingling your roof is pretty high. For $25,000 you’d reduce your energy bill by about 50-60% approximately. Factor in solar incentives and the price comes down, but solar shingles are generally a more expensive option at present. Some top manufacturers of solar shingles – Dow, Sunpower and Unisolar. Worth checking out.
Solar Hot Water
Two residential solar hot water systems on the market are evacuated glass tube collectors, and flat plate collectors pictured here. Evacuated glass tube collectors are more common and either options can be ground or roof mounted.
