Thin Film Solar Panels – Lighter and Cheaper
New innovation in the field of solar technology has provides us with thin film solar panels that are affordable and cheap when compared to thick solar panels. These thin solar panels work like the same way as the thick solar panels work. The term solar panels make us to visualize big steel structures holding huge numbers of solar cells. These are very thick in appearance and utilize crystalline silicon as the semiconductor. They may be thick but are effective in generating solar energy. These thick solar panels need big space to install and are also very pricey. Alternatively, thin solar panels hold the semiconductor inside the PV cell and this makes them to work like the thick ones, but in a smaller size and compact structure.
After exposing PV panels to sunlight, the semiconductor is immediately activated and starts generating electric power. By utilizing these thin film solar panels, you can instantly use the electric power or can store it in batteries for later use. Traditional solar panels take few days to install but thin solar panels are very easy and quicker to install. Thin solar panels are available in the “peel & stick” format, so you can even stick it in your roof easily.
There are several kinds of thin film solar panels available but most of them are rollable. These are exceptionally durable and work perfectly on any weather condition.
Thin Film Solar Panels Benefits
It is found that these thin solar panels work better that the traditional solar panels during low sunlight and cloudy weather conditions because no heat up is required for thin solar panels to produce electricity. Most of the thin solar panels are available with self adhesive; therefore one can remove the back and stick the panel in any place he or she wants. These solar panels are lightweight and flat and are available according to the roof structure. Thin solar panels are very flexible in nature, so any bump or knock cannot damage it, one can even walk on it if he or she is careful.
3 Common Types Of Thin Solar Panels
1) Amorphous Silicon
These were the initial thin solar panels to be produced commercially. Amorphous Silicon is non-crystalline kind of silicon. We are familiar with this technology because this technology is broadly used in watches, calculator and different other electronic devices. This technology has gained immense popularity because of the improvements made and its cheap price.
2) Cadmium Telluride
The top manufacturers of solar panels advocate using Cadmium Telluride solar panels. It is the only thin photovoltaic technology to beat crystalline silicon in performance.
3) Copper Indium diSelenide (CIGS)
The technology of CIGS has attained efficiency levels to twenty percent in laboratory; it is much superior to the Cadmium Telluride. Regrettably, it is trickier to work on and several of the companies are under pressure to get an adequately efficient module in the market at affordable price. Presently, most of the companies are manufacturing these panels in small amount.
Despite some setbacks, it is to be said that the future of thin film solar panels are very bright and we all will be definitely benefited by the immense capacity of these solar panels.