Multicrystalline Solar Panels

Multicrystalline solar panels sometimes referred to as polycrystalline are made from silicon similar to their monocrystalline counterparts.

Multicrystalline solar panels.

Polycrystalline solar panels are also referred to as multi crystalline or many crystal silicon. Poly multi crystalline solar panels are slightly cheaper to manufacture than mono crystalline solar panels. Polycrystalline solar panels are also made from silicon. This is a merit in that this solar panel has a higher temperature coefficient than those panels made from mono cells.

Polycrystalline solar cells are cheaper to make than monocrystalline cells. Due to tighter spacing of the cells on multi poly crystalline solar panels compared to mono crystalline solar panels the higher efficiency of mono crystalline solar panels is negligible. Polysilicon is distinct from monocrystalline silicon and amorphous silicon. Multicrystalline solar cells are the most common type of solar cells in the fast growing pv market and consume most of the worldwide produced polysilicon.

About 5 tons of polysilicon is required to manufacture 1 megawatt mw of conventional solar modules. This means that its efficiency in producing energy falls as temperatures rise. Multicrystalline panels are lower resistant to heat.