SOLAR PANELS

There are 3 types of solar panels available: Monocrystalline, Polycrystalline and Thin Film. The two most appropriate for the U.K. market are the Monocrystalline and the Polycrystalline. Due to lower silicon purity, polycrystalline solar panels are not quite as efficient as monocrystalline solar panels– however in our experience the difference between the two is marginal.

Monocrystalline panels are black, whereas polycrystalline tend to be a blue/silver colour. Therefore, we would recommend that you choose a monocrystalline module (black) should you be taking aesthetics into consideration as it is the better looking panel.

This is a very fast evolving industry, and the advances in solar technology over recent years has been incredible.

We, and our suppliers, are constantly monitoring these advances along with the Scottish Institute for Solar Energy Research, in order to seek out the best performing, value for money modules, both monocrystalline and polycrystalline available in Scotland today. 

Solar panels are referred to in the trade as solar “modules” and trying to separate fact from fiction, with regards to performance and quality of build can be quite overwhelming.

The “Efficiency” of a panel is also often referred to as a form of measuring performance, but this is a fallacy, as “efficiency,” in simplistic terms, is a measure of the ability of one square meter of the module to convert light to electricity. The efficiency of a module is tested at a set irradiance, temperature, angle to the sun etc. etc. but at the end of the day efficiency is not really relevant as a 250W module is a 250W module (but they may vary in size depending on surface size required to achieve the 250W)

There are a multitude of solar panels on the market today, the majority of which come from China, but are disguised with names such as “Canadian Solar” to try and give the impression that they are manufactured in a different country. Other module manufacturers have small satellite offices based in European countries, and again give the misleading impression that they manufacture the modules there, but again they come from China, Singapore or Taiwan. The reality is that most solar panels are manufactured in China and Asia.

The most important factors when buying solar panels is to ensure that they are MCS Registered and that the panels are manufactured by a Tier 1 manufacturer. This ensures that the panels have past the rigorous tests set by MCS and that the manufacturer of the panels meet the financial requirements of the Bloomberg List.