Evolution Of Solar Panel Efficiency

Solar panel efficiency is a measurement of how much of the sun s energy a certain panel can convert into usable electricity.

Evolution of solar panel efficiency.

If your are looking to minimize your exposure to ever increasing electricity prices please give us a call and we can discuss what options are available. It wasn t until 1954 that bell labs invented the first useful silicon solar panel which was about six percent efficient. The first huge step in solar panel technology came when alexandre becquerel observed the photovoltaic effect in 1839 which occurs when a material produces electric current when exposed to light. For example a solar panel with 20 efficiency and an area of 1 m 2 will produce 200 kwh yr at standard test conditions but it can produce more when the sun.

The efficiency of the solar cells used in a photovoltaic system in combination with latitude and climate determines the annual energy output of the system. Solar panel efficiency is a measure of the amount of solar energy irradiation which falls on a panel surface and is converted into electricity. Today solar panels can deliver at up to 22 efficiency. There have also been ongoing efforts to make solar energy even more affordable and efficient with an emerging technology called the perovskite solar cell.

This crystalline material could ultimately replace silicon in solar panels and reduce costs using simpler production. The evolution of solar panels has been a slow but worthwhile undertaking. This is done by capturing the electrical current generated when sunshine interacts with the solar cells in the panel and is transferred through the wiring and busbars to be converted into ac alternating current energy. The very first solar cells invented in the 1800s were less than one percent efficient not nearly enough to make them a useful energy source.

Since 2009 evolution energy has installed over 1500 solar electric systems across southern california and we are still here today in order to honor our work and maintain our systems. Solar panel efficiency over time. New solar panels are more reliable than their predecessors and financial incentives bring their cost down considerably. Due to the many recent advances in solar cell technology over the last 5 years average panel conversion efficiency has increased from 15 to 20.