The Problems With Thin Film Solar Panels

December 29, 2011 2024-10-03T09:31:56 by 26 Comments
Thin Film Solar Panels in a solar farm

Picture: Thin Film Solar Panels on a solar farm in Germany

If you are looking to buy a solar power system and have done any kind of research on the web, then you have probably  come across lots of people  arguing over the pros and cons of Thin Film Solar Panels compared to the more common monocrystalline or polycrystalline solar panels. In a nutshell, there are 3 major types of solar panel technology on the market:

  • MonoCrystalline,
  • PolyCrystalline
  • Thin-Film

It seems a lot of people are firmly in either the “Crystalline” or “Thin-Film” camp. And when discussing which panel is best, they can easily lose their objectivity with arguments along the lines of “Thin Film is the only way to go” or “Mono Crystalline and Poly Crystalline are junk!”.

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Trust Solar Paints? Sure Can

December 23, 2011 2021-02-11T11:02:10 by 1 Comment

By Rich Bowden

Honouring our commitment to keep readers informed of the pointy end of current solar research, this week’s column brings you the latest breakthrough on…..solar paint.

Yes that’s right. Solar paint. [Read more…]

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Tiny Tokelau Takes on the World With Solar PV Plunge

December 19, 2011 2017-10-25T10:32:28 by 1 Comment


By Rich Bowden

One of the least reported, though possibly one of the most important, announcements to come out of the recent climate change gabfest in Durban earlier this month was the one from tiny Tokelau, with a population 1,500 (and three cars as reported by the Guardian). The Pacific state said it is planning to replace its aged diesel generators with a $US7.5 million solar PV system.
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Tassie comes in from the cold

October 28, 2011 2017-10-25T10:34:15 by 1 Comment

Vast solar arrays in the middle of our hot baking deserts or mainland cities awash with solar panels are generally considered the most efficient way to soak up the abundant sun for energy in our country. In terms of suitability for solar farms in this wide, brown land of ours, the mind definitely points to swelteringly hot parts of the mainland, rather than the cool, fresh, green island of Tasmania.

Not so according to a recent study by the American Chemical Society journal Environmental Science & Technology which says the cooler regions of the world are, contrary to general belief, an excellent area to generate massive amounts of solar energy. The report says that cool climates, particularly those at a higher altitude, have massive potential to generate solar-powered electricity.

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BP Solar Stops Making Residential Solar Panels

July 24, 2011 2017-10-25T10:39:13 by 1 Comment

By Rich Bowden:

bp solar

An old school BP Solar panel – now a collectors item? (Credit: Thomas Springer)

The news that BP Solar will close its global distribution for residential solar panels and related PV products in favour of large scale projects has raised eyebrows amongst solar analysts throughout the world.

The announcement came after the company had been in the business of marketing PV products for thirty years, making it one of the world’s acknowledged leaders in this field. A company spokesperson was reported by wire news agencies as saying late last week that “…we think we can have a much stronger business going forward focusing on developing projects,” as he added that the company is now looking to concentrate its interest in this field.

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Australian Researchers Break World Record for Solar Panel Efficiency

July 9, 2011 2024-07-03T10:43:36 by 1 Comment

By Rich Bowden

Now this is the sort of news your SolarQuotes.com.au correspondent likes to deliver. After weeks of wading through government reversals on solar feed-in tariffs, reporting on the various sniping at the edges of the solar industry and talking about savage cuts from state and federal governments affecting the Australian renewables sector, here comes a really positive development.

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NSW Govt Opts for ‘Hardship’ Package for Out-of-Pocket Solar Customers

May 30, 2011 2024-07-03T11:04:51 by 1 Comment

By Rich Bowden

The NSW Government has refused to back down over its controversial decision to reduce the bonus feed-in tariff offered to households for solar power returned to the grid from 60 cents per kilowatt hour to 40 cents.

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Will Solar Power Save The Planet?

April 4, 2011 2014-01-05T21:07:29 by Leave a Comment

I suppose some would call me a “Greenie”.  Heck, I call myself that sometimes.

Like any good Aussie, I love the outdoors, the sunshine and the surf. I’m deeply grateful for the beauty and majesty of our planet. It pains me when I see it being brutalized, plundered or wasted in the name of laziness or greed.

And I do believe that we have a responsibility to be good stewards of the earth’s resources. I believe that a lot of the political and economic tension that our world currently faces could be reduced with more responsible use of the limited resources we have at our disposal.

And I believe solar power will play a central role in an improving the relationships with our political neighbours and our natural world.

But, I don’t believe solar power is the answer to all our problems. I don’t believe solar power is the great savior of our planet. I don’t believe solar power is right for everyone. I don’t believe we should make too big a deal of solar power.

Why not? Because it’s too easy. [Read more…]

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Got A Shaded Roof? Then don’t buy solar without a Suneye shade analysis.

February 10, 2011 2017-05-03T13:45:52 by 53 Comments

Shade is the number one enemy of a high performance solar power system.

If your roof has substantial shading between 9am and 3pm then installing solar panels is probably going to be a really bad investment.

If you are confident that your roof roof has absolutely no shading, then solar can be a great investment thanks to the current handouts by the Federal and State governments in terms of Solar Rebates and Solar Feed In Tariffs. [Read more…]

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BP Solar Panels come last in 2010 German Solar Panel Test

January 25, 2011 2017-05-03T13:47:43 by 4 Comments

 

A recent solar panel test by German outfit “The TEC Institute for Technical Innovations” which put 15 Solar Panels under identical conditions for a month had some surprising results.

The test measured the power output of the following brands of solar panels:

  • ANTARIS AS M 185 AI
  • CSI CS 5A 180 M
  • ULICA 180 (34) D-UL 800
  • Jiangyin Jetion JT 175 (35)
  • ANTARIS AS M 175 AI 1
  • SolarGate SG 2200
  • Yunnan Tianda TD 175 M5
  • 180 Sharp NU-180 E1
  • aleo S16
  • asola 185W/48
  • CSI CS6P-230P
  • Kyocera KC 175 GHT-2
  • Sym. Energy SE-M231
  • bpSolar 3210 N

Here are the results:

(click  here for full size image)

Basically the lesser known (and cheaper) brands like Ulica and the funny sounding Jiangyin Jetion produced more power in the test than the better known and generally more expensive brands such as Sharp, Kyocera and BP Solar in over their 1 month under the German Sun.

Of course your panels have to keep producing power over 25 or more years and the test doesn’t help measure the longevity of the panels, but the results are pretty interesting nonetheless.

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