DSC ( dye-sensitized solar cell), thin-film solar cells or crystalline silicon solar cell?
Conversion Efficiency or $/Watt? Which is more important?
No doubt, the cell efficiency is important. Silicon wafer solar cells convert typically 15–20% of the sun's energy into DC power, thin-film solar cells are in the 8–10% range and DSC's in 3-7% range. But cell efficiency is just one number in a larger equation that must consider manufacturing costs, installation, space allotted, the sun's heat, and many more factors.
Cell efficiency is important in the overall cost of solar energy, but the packaging of the solar cell into a solar module is where the majority of the costs lie. The cost of glass, encapsulation and wiring connector boxes are common for most solar modules can have a big impact on the overall cost. The bulk silicon technology has high labor costs since they are batch-oriented, with about 26 different steps from raw silicon to solar module. On the thin-film or DSC side, only about 10% of the per-watt costs lie in labor due to the highly automated aspect of the manufacturing process.
From utilities and end users point of view, they would want the best watt-for-watt performance they can get. This gives thin-film advantages over crystalline. When you account for all aspects mentioned that can affect the collection of sunlight and its conversion into usable AC power in actual installations, you learn the net system efficiency or the percentage of actual power produced compared to how much power-producing potential you paid for. In this case, thin films typically deliver more watts of usable power for each watt of potential power installed running as high as 75% net efficiency compared to crystalline silicon delivering around 57%. These performance realities are beginning to effect purchasing decisions.
Despite the lower conversion efficiency, DSC and thin-film module makers are likely to reach the industry's $1/watt goal (making solar energy cost-competitive with traditional energy sources) within the next 1–2 years.
Source: http://www.beltfurnaces.com
Presentation on Crystalline Silicon Solar Cells
[simpleaffiliate source="amazon" results="5"]crystalline silicon solar cells[/simpleaffiliate]
[simpleaffiliate source="clickbank" results="3"]crystalline silicon solar cells[/simpleaffiliate]
No comments:
Post a Comment