When you consider installing solar panels in your home for renewable electricity, there are a few things you need to consider. One of the most important things is how efficient these solar panels are when converting sun energy to electricity.
We will look at the term ‘power efficiency,’ which is often used when the experts talk about power generation. The main factors that contribute to the total efficiency of solar panels, such as natural elements, will be considered.
Solar power efficiency has a significant impact on the cost and other factors regarding power generation. Keep on reading if you are interested to find out more about solar panel efficiency.
What Is Solar Panel Efficiency
First of all, it is necessary to understand solar power efficiency and why it is important. According to experts, the sun supplies more than enough energy in one day to power the earth for a year.
The problem is that even the most efficient solar panels do not convert that energy efficiently. The total efficiency of a solar panel is the amount of electricity that a panel can generate with the sunlight that falls on it.
Simply put, the panel must convert enough of the sun’s energy falling on it into electricity to be useful for us. The total efficiency of a solar panel is the best way to determine and compare the overall performance of solar panels.
How Efficient Are Solar Panels
At this stage, the total efficiency rate of top-ranked solar panels is around 22 percent which is not that high. This means that only 22 percent of the sun’s energy falling on the panel is converted into usable electric power.
Other lower-quality solar panels will only convert around 15 percent of the sun’s energy into electricity. To generate electricity from solar energy to save on electricity bills is not as feasible as we want it to be.
The higher efficient solar panels are also more expensive than those with a low-efficiency conversion rate. Using the cheaper low efficient option will also not be practical because you will need more panels.
Space is also a factor you need to take into consideration when you plan to install solar panels at home. Lower efficient solar panels mean you will need a lot of space to install more panels to generate enough electricity.
You can install high-efficiency panels to save space, but they will cost you more than the panels with lower efficiency.
Other Factors You Need To Take Into Consideration
Other factors will significantly affect the overall output efficiency of a solar panel. We will look at these factors to see how much impact they may have on the overall conversion efficiency rate.
Hours Of Sunlight
It is essential to know that the total hours of sunlight you have available in a day will have an impact. That means lesser hours of sunlight per day will also lower the total output from the panel for a day.
You might experience days without enough sunlight, such as in areas with high rainfall where it may rain for days on end. This will prevent you from receiving any solar energy that your solar panels can convert into energy you can use in your home.
Time Of the Day
If you install a solar panel, you need to install it so that it will receive the maximum sunlight in a day. At midday, the sun will shine at its highest peak and also provide the most energy to the solar panel.
Early hours and later hours of the day will get much less energy from the sun that panels can convert into electricity. To eliminate this shortcoming, you need to add a method so the panel can follow the sun until it sets at night.
An automatic system that allows the solar panel to follow the sun comes at a cost, but it will be more efficient.
Position Of the Solar Panels
To install the solar panels for maximum sunlight, they must be placed in the proper position to receive maximum solar energy. This simply means you must place them where they will receive the most sunlight every hour of the day.
Seasons Of the Year
The solar panel will naturally receive more sun in the summer than it will receive during the winter months. In winter, the degree of the sun will also change, and it will lay a bit lower than where it lays in the summer.
This will lower the energy from the sun by 30 to 50 percent, which converts to lower electricity output.
Total Available Space
To generate more electricity with even the highest efficiency panel, you need to add more solar panels to your system. That means the total amount of space you have on the roof will determine how much electricity you will be able to generate.
So, if you have a small roof, you may not be able to generate enough electricity to replace grid power completely.
Is Efficiency Really Important?
When it comes to other types of henry conversion, such as chemical to electrical the answer will be yes. The fuel used to convert chemical to electrical energy sometimes comes at a high cost.
For that reason, you would want it to be more efficient to make up for the money spent on the fuel. Sun energy is free, so you do not need to worry that much about the total cost when converting it to electricity.
The real issue here is the total cost of the equipment that is included to convert the solar energy into usable electric power.
Is Paying More Worth It?
The question here is, is it worth it to pay the higher price for the higher efficiency solar panels/
If you consider how much more you will pay to save about 10 percent footprint space, it might not be.
High-efficiency solar panels are pretty expensive compared to the price of lower-efficiency panels. It may work out much cheaper to use 10 percent more low-efficiency solar panels than using higher efficiency panels.
Summing It Up
We made a summary to easily compare if it will be better to pay more or save money.
- To get more power output, you need to add more solar panels into your system
- If you do not have enough space on your roof, you need to consider the higher efficiency solar panels
- The cost of higher efficiency solar panels are far more than the lower efficiency panels
- If you do not need that much power, it might be more cost-effective to install more low-efficiency solar panels
- Where you live will, in the end, determine what type and how many solar panels you need to reach the target power output
Conclusion
If you are in the market to invest in an excellent solar power generation system, you need to do a lot of research. With many great solar power installation companies at your disposal, talking to more than one will be worth it.
Get professional advice before installing a solar system, which will cost you a lot of money and may not be worth it. To find out how much it will cost, visit this website for a proper calculation.