Solar Cell Comparison Chart – Mono-, Polycrystalline and Thin Film http://energyinformative.org/solar-cell-comparison-chart-mono-polycrysta...

Solar Cell Comparison Chart – Mono-, Polycrystalline

and Thin Film

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Last updated September 27, 2013 by Mathias Aarre Maehlum

Below is a chart that lists the most used solar cell technologies today, their specifications, and how
they compare against each other. Thin film solar cells include amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride
(CdTe) and copper indium gallium selenide (CIS/CIGS).

Monocrystalline Polycrystalline Amorphous CdTe CIS/CIGS

Typical module
15-20% 13-16% 6-8% 9-11% 10-12%
efficiency
Best research
25.0% 20.4% 13.4% 18.7% 20.4%
cell efficiency
Area required 11-13
6-9 m2 8-9 m2 13-20 m2 9-11 m2
for 1 kWp m2
Typical length
25 years 25 years 10-25 years
of warranty
Lowest price 0.75 $/W 0.62 $/W 0.69 $/W
Performance drops Less temperature Relatively low
Temperature Tolerates
10-15% at high resistant than impact on
resistance extreme heat
temperatures monocrystalline performance
Less silicon waste in Tend to degrade faster than
Additional Oldest cell technology crystalline-based solar panels
the production
details and most widely used
process Low availability on the market

Lowest price is based on listings of wholesalers and retailers on the Internet (June 3, 2013). Best
research cell efficiency is data collected from National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).[1]

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