Why Solar? > Types of Solar: Photovoltaic

Photovoltaic Solar Say "solar" and most people will think of photovoltaics, the dominant technology in the field. Photovoltaics turn sunlight into electricity, using either silicon (the same type used in semiconductors) or what's called thin-film technology. Typically when you see a solar panel on a roof, it is a photovoltaic (PV) panel made out of a silicon material and covered with a tempered glass enclosure to protect it from the elements.

Introduction

Photovoltaic solar panels offer a dizzying array of technology choices in terms of cells, panels and configurations. Even the cells themselves can use monocrystalline, polycrystalline, metallurgical grade or a hybrid mix of silicon materials. With so many different manufacturers and so many different panel types, much of the ultimate purchasing decision will be done with the guidance of your professional distributor and/or installer.

Today, the price of the system and the associated cost per kilowatt hour of electricity it generats is paramount. Solar photovoltaics is still an expensive form of electricity, especially when compared to cheap coal. With national utility rates averaging $0.10 per kilowatt hour, a photovoltaic consumer price of roughly $0.50 per kilowatt hour cannot compete on a pure price basis. For more information on the true cost of burning coal, please see the following link.

As technologies evolve and the industry expands, we should see productivity improvements drive down the cost curve (think of plasma television prices over the last ten years). The market for solar will open up, and customers will start seeing a greater return on their investment.

One study conducted by Photon Magazine, the leading trade publication, put the installed market potential (based on manufacturing costs of a system) at no less than 70% of the OECD nations (Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development), basically the developed world, by the year 2010. This number assumes the cost to build and deliver a system will be around $0.10 to $0.15 per kilowatt hour, competitive with existing national electric energy averages (using coal and other fossil fuels). For further information on this study, please stay tuned.

Introduction to PV   Thin Film Technologies