Generally speaking, your options for types of solar panels on the Zambian market are limited to monocrystalline, or polycrystalline. Each type of solar panel has its own advantages and disadvantages, and the factors that are specific to your desired system will ultimately dictate the type of solar panel that you choose to use. Monocrystalline and Polycrystalline vary in how they are made, appearance, performance, costs, and the installations each are best suited for.
Both monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels have cells made of silicon wafers. To produce DC voltage, solar cells are made from a semiconducting material that converts light into electricity and the most common material used as a semi-conductor during the solar cell manufacturing process is silicon. It has to be noted that while both of these types of solar panels have cells made from silicon, the difference between the monocrystalline and polycrystalline panels is in the composition of the silicon itself. Monocrystalline solar cells are cut from a single, pure crystal of silicon whilst polycrystalline solar cells are composed of fragments of silicon crystals that are melted together in a mold.
Monocrystalline Solar Panels
Monocrystalline solar panels as the name suggests are produced from a single crystal of silicon. The solar cells have a uniform crystal structure giving them the highest efficiency of up to about 20% among the different types of solar panels commercially available. Monocrystalline panels are also characterized by their color, which is usually black.
In comparison to other solar panel types, monocrystalline panels are the most efficient option but also the most expensive. Because of their high efficiency, monocrystalline solar panel find application in places where there is limited space since their high efficiency maximizes the amount of electricity obtained.
Polycrystalline Solar Panels
Polycrystalline solar panels are also known as multicrystalline solar panels. As their name suggests, polycrystalline cells consist of several small crystals of silicon in an irregular arrangement. These panels are manufactured by melting multiple silicon fragments and pouring them into a mold, instead of using a single crystal. This process has a lower cost, but it results in slightly lower efficiencies of 15% to 20%. As a result, a larger area must be covered with polycrystalline panels to convert a given amount of sunlight into electricity. However, thanks to their lower price per watt of capacity, polycrystalline panels command the largest market share.
Polycrystalline panels can be considered the intermediate option in terms of cost and efficiency. They are less expensive than monocrystalline panels. These panels are recommended for most projects since they offer decent efficiency for a reasonable cost.