Ever wondered which type of PV panel offers the best output?<\/p>\n
We wondered that too! \u00a0So we decided to carry out our own impartial test.<\/p>\n
Don’t worry, we’re not setting out to prove that Victron Panels are best or anything like that. We thought it would be interesting to compare Monocrystalline cells with Polycrystalline; Passivated Emitter and Rear Cell (PERC<\/a>) panels; and ‘Split-Cell’ panels – which are wired to reduce hot spots and increase efficiency.<\/p>\n So we installed those four types of array, outdoors, making sure the installations were identical in every way:<\/p>\n they’re in the same location (obviously!)<\/p>\n they have the same length of cabling;<\/p>\n they’re connected to identical MPPT solar chargers<\/p>\n panel output is mathematically re-calculated to show results as if each array had a 2500Wp<\/p>\n The test has been running for six months and will continue indefinitely. You can view the live data, and see the total power harvest which has accumulated over time.<\/p>\n By way of an example here’s a snap-shot comparison for one moment in time: When the monos were producing 1430 Watts, this was the live comparison:<\/p>\n What makes the experiment interesting is that different panels offer their best performance under different weather conditions. Local ‘live’ meteorological conditions are reported alongside the panel readings.<\/p>\n At the time of writing, in the Northern Hemisphere, we are coming into our winter. Clear cold winter days of brilliant sunshine are great for harvesting solar energy – so let’s see what happens!<\/p>\n To see live data from our test go to the Victron Energy homepage<\/a> and click on Field Test<\/em> – which you’ll find top left of screen, on the site-map black-strip. (Field Test cannot yet be viewed on mobile phones.)<\/p>\n Take a look at this video to see how our 4 panel arrays were set up for comparison-testing, and how the results can be compared.<\/p>\n\n\n\n