Solar Cells
A solar cell or photovoltaic cell is a semiconductor device that converts light directly into electricity by the photovoltaic effect.
There are different types of photovoltaic cells:
Single crystal silicon PV cells are manufactured using a single-crystal growth method and have commercial efficiencies between 15 % and 18 %.
Multicrystalline silicon cells, usually manufactured from a melting and solidification process, are less expensive to produce but are marginally less efficient, with conversion efficiencies around 14 %.
PV cells made from silicon ribbons demonstrate an average efficiency around 14 %.
Thin film cells, constructed by depositing extremely thin layers of photovoltaic semi-conductor materials onto a backing material such as glass, stainless steel or plastic, show stable efficiencies in the range of 7 % to 13 %. Thin film materials commercially used are amorphous silicon (a-Si), cadmium telluride (CdTe), and copper-indium-gallium-diselenide (CIGS).
Commercially available thin film modules:
- Are potentially cheaper to manufacture than crystalline cells
- Have a wider customer appeal as design elements due to their homogeneous appearance
- Present disadvantages, such as low-conversion efficiencies and requiring larger areas of PV arrays and more material (cables, support structures) to produce the same amount of electricity
Source: IEA PVPS
Solar Modules
A solar module is a commercial product formed by solar cells.
