Solar pv panels love light but hate heat.
Good solar panel power coefficient.
The best solar panels available on the market today are sunpower s a series residential solar panels which are 22 8 efficient at their maximum.
A higher efficiency rating is better because it means that your solar panel is able to convert more of the sunlight it captures into electricity.
Solar panels like other electronics operate at their best when they are kept cool ideally around 25 c 77 f.
When the sun is beating down and the panels get hot their power output drops by around 0 4 for every degree the panel gets above 25Âșc.
Monocrystalline panel efficiencies can range from 17 to 22.
Solar panels have been consistently increasing in efficiency at about 5 annually since 2010.
Factors that affect solar panel efficiency.
Most solar panels have a temperature coefficient of around 0 3 c to 0 5 c.
For example the temperature coefficient of a panasonic hit 330w n type 96 solar panel is 258 per 1 degree celsius.
This means that the 175 watt nt 175u1 would lose 0 49 of its power output for every degree above 25 c the solar cells heated up.
Contrary to popular belief a solar panel s efficiency reduces as it heats up.
The average efficiency of solar panels falls between the 17 to 19 percent efficiency range.
Solar panels are tested for their efficiency at 25 c and that is why this is used as the reference point.
The maximum power temperature coefficient listed for sharp solar panels is 0 49 per c.
Solar panel efficiency is a measure of the amount of solar energy irradiation which falls on a panel surface and is converted into electricity.
For example sunpower s solar panels all have a temperature coefficient of 0 37 c.
The temperature coefficient indicates how well your solar panel will perform in less than ideal conditions.
The temperature coefficient gives you a sense of how your panel s performance will change during hot sunny summer days.
So for every degree above 25 c the maximum power of the panasonic solar panel falls by 258 for every degree below it increases by 258.
The highest efficiency solar panels on the market today can reach almost 23 percent efficiency.
This would equal a loss of 0 86 watts 0 49 x 175 watts of power output for each degree.