polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

solar roller

I'm sold on using enphase inverters however my panel selection is not clear. I have both south facing and a west facing roof space where i plane to install my panels. Since I can install different panels with enphase should i get monocrystalline for my south facing roof and poly on my west facing roof space?

The panels that i have to chose from are: Solarworld 235 poly/mono, Samsung 240 poly,Sanyo 215 poly, and Mage 230 poly/mono.

Is Sanyo worth the extra $$. I understand I would use the m210 with sanyo compared to the m190 with the rest.

Lastly, my installer has told me that the 230w+ panels with the m190 will produce more power over a longer period of time with the degradation of the panels. Is there any truth to that?

BB.

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

Figure out the cost per kwh between mono vs poly panels. Otherwise either is a good choice.

Yes, you will get more power from the 230 watt panel over time. Is the 5-10% more power worth it to you vs the extra costs--your choice.

-Bill

solar_dave

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

What you really need to consider is the total cost per watt. Mono panels are slightly more efficient at converting photons. Unless you have real estate issues for the amount of space to mount panels then either should be OK. I don't think the panel degradation is a concern with either, most manufacturers guarantee their output for long periods of time, like 80% over 20 years. I am not a enphase user but they seem like the right solution for differing orientations and and shading.

Thin film panels are much less efficient and the cost of racking in material and labor the extra panels start to be a concern as does the amount of space they use.

solar roller

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

Any preference of panels from the selection below? and why?


Solarworld 235 poly/mono, Samsung 240 poly,Sanyo 215 poly, and Mage 230 poly/mono.

If price is the same I should go with the Mono panels?

drees

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

For your non-south facing panels (assuming same or close cost/watt), I would get the biggest panels possible to maximize output.

For your south facing panels, I probably wouldn't go over 230W unless you live in an area where it gets very hot - unless the bigger panels are also cheapest.

From your list of panels - Sanyo is probably the biggest brand name. Didn't even know that Samsung made panels and Mage appears to be primarily german. In the end - you have to look at $/watt to make a decision.

solarix

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

As long as you have enough space, (and it a rare roof that does not) the polycrystaline modules are a lot better deal per watt with the same quality and reliability. At the wholesale level at least, you will pay almost 50% more per watt for the "high-efficiency" modules which will save you maybe 25% space. I even contend that the monocrystaline modules will potentially degrade faster as manufacturing processes needed to fab them are much trickier and the crystal structure etc has to remain perfect, whereas the poly modules are already "partially degraded" with many crystaline boundaries.

Juram

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

solar roller wrote: »

I'm sold on using enphase inverters however my panel selection is not clear. I have both south facing and a west facing roof space where i plane to install my panels. Since I can install different panels with enphase should i get monocrystalline for my south facing roof and poly on my west facing roof space?

The panels that i have to chose from are: Solarworld 235 poly/mono, Samsung 240 poly,Sanyo 215 poly, and Mage 230 poly/mono.

Is Sanyo worth the extra $$. I understand I would use the m210 with sanyo compared to the m190 with the rest.

Lastly, my installer has told me that the 230w+ panels with the m190 will produce more power over a longer period of time with the degradation of the panels. Is there any truth to that?

Where's your location? Generally in cloudier areas I'd recommend mono, in more sunny locales, poly will work just fine.

Also there's a lot of BS out there about the Enphase inverters. Unless you have serious shading issues, go with a standard type inverter. Sanyo does make great panels, but how much are they charging you for them? Sanyo under $6.00 a watt is a great value I feel, but over that? Not so much.


Solarworld makes great panels as well and you can't go wrong with their panels either and they tend to have a pretty fair price-point($5.35-5.75) a watt.

Juram

Re: polycrystalline vs. monocrystalline solar panels

drees wrote: »

For your non-south facing panels (assuming same or close cost/watt), I would get the biggest panels possible to maximize output.

For your south facing panels, I probably wouldn't go over 230W unless you live in an area where it gets very hot - unless the bigger panels are also cheapest.

From your list of panels - Sanyo is probably the biggest brand name. Didn't even know that Samsung made panels and Mage appears to be primarily german. In the end - you have to look at $/watt to make a decision.

From what I've heard, Samsung's panels although new, are pretty effective. I believe that the OP's installer is Sunwize, as they currently have a premium dealer agreeement with Samsung?