Best Solar Panels – Global Ranking Of Manufacturers
Posted by admin on Aug 16, 2009
In 2007 ENF Ltd., a reputable China and UK based photovoltaic information company, took a brand survey of photovoltaic installation companies in 45 different countries.
ENF is a photovoltaic information company located in China and in the U.K. . Those were the results:
Best Solar Panels
Global No.1 Brand: SunPower
Global No.2 Brand: Schott Solar
Global No.3 Brand: Solar World
No.1 Product Quality: Sanyo
No.1 Value for Money: Suntech Power
Best Solar Panels Inverters
Global No.1 Brand: Kaco Solar
Global No.2 Brand: OutBack
Global No.3 Brand: Mastervolt
No.1 Product Quality: OutBack
No.1 Value for Money: Kaco Solar
Best Solar Panels Mounting Systems
Global No.1 Brand: Direct Power & Water
Global No.2 Brand: UniRac
Global No.3 Brand: Schüco
Best Solar Trackers
Global No.1 Brand: Zomeworks
Best Solar Systems
Global No.1 Brand: Sharp
ENF is a photovoltaic information company located in China and in the U.K.. Their 3 core activities are:
1. Photovoltaic Company Directory
2. Photovoltaic Market Research
3. Trade Services
CEO: Kit Temple Website: http://www.enf.cn
How can you find the “best solar panels” for your purpose?
A good way to start finding out is to ask yourself: Do I want to produce electrical power to run electrical devices in the house, in the garden or on the way, e.g. Lights, Stereos, Computers etc.? Or do I want to produce heat / hot water for house and pool? In this article you will learn how to choose the best solar panels and do both.
Electrical Power with Photovoltaic Panels
Strictly speaking “Solar Panels” are Photovoltaic Panels or Photovoltaic Modules. Solar Panels in this respect convert shortwave radiation, mostly sunlight, into electrical power. They consist of Photovoltaic Cells made of Silicium or other semiconducting materials. (Silicium is worldwide most frequently used). These Solar Panels are available in different sizes, (falling) prices and, depending on size and material, different degrees of efficiency and amounts of wattage they can produce.
Now how to choose the best solar panels out of this wide range of electricity producing modules? Please consider two more things:
- The bigger the solar panel, the more electricity it will relatively produce
- The higher the degree of efficiency, the more electricity it will realtively produce
So, if you have a small rooftop and a lot of money, you may get Gallium-Arsenik-Solar Panels installed. They have the biggest commercial available degree of efficiency (30%) and produce 50 Watt / Kilogram. They are perhaps the best solar panels and very, very expensive.
If you have an average roof and average money, you may consider multicristalline Silicium Panels. Their degree of efficiency is circa 16% and are the best solar panels in cost/performance ratio at the time. Further alternatives are:
- Monocristalline Silicium Panels (degree of efficiency is over 20% at 20 – 50 Watt per Kilogram
- Amorphous Silicium Thin-Film-Panels (degree of efficiency at 5 – 7 %, best solar panels in sales at the time)
Hot Water with Solar Collectors
Solar Thermal Collectors or Solar Collectors, on the other hand, are devices that also utilize the sunlight. They generate heat / hot water and use a technology that is very different to Photovoltaic Modules. Nevertheless are they commonly named “Solar Panels”, too. That especially when they are non parabolic flat and installed on rooftops. Solar Collectors can produce heat / hot water with a high degree of efficiency. Residential installations provide hot water for heating and shower. Industrial Solar Collectors can use the produced hot water even to run electrical generators and produce electrical power. Depending on the different ways of damping the Solar Absorber there are 4 major kinds of Solar Thermal Collectors:
- Flat Plate – Uses common insulating material
- Evacuated Tube – Uses vacuum for damping, is more expensive
- Vacuum Flat Plate – Is flat, has a good gross/net ratio and is vacuum damped. The best Solar Panels for hot water.
- Low Temperatur Absorber – Is a simple absorber, mostly used to heat swimming pools, mostly consists of plastic material and is in the majority of cases undamped. But belongs to the best solar panels for pool heating.
There are some other kinds of Solar Collectors such as Air, Asphalt and Volumetric Thermal Collectors. The latter may be the earliest Solar Collector in human history but in real life you may use one of the 4 common Collector-Types mentioned above to produce heat / hot water.
Summary:
If you want to produce electricity, the best solar panels are photovoltaic panels. If you want to produce heat / hot water, the best solar panels for you are Solar Thermal Collectors. There are a lot of differences in price and performance in both categories, depending on several factors mentioned above. Consider consulting one or several local Solar-Specialists to get advice on location. Consider as well building your own solar panels, save a lot of money and get a lot of fun.
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“New MindMap on Solar Power Lights”
Posted by admin on Oct 21, 2009
Solar Power Lights are a great way to illuminate your house, your garden or your pool and save money on your electricity bill as well.
Why not set a bright tone to your garden, to your driveway or to your pool with solar power lights. They also add safety since steps, perimeters of swimming-pools or flowerbeds get illuminated in the dark.
You can mark the edge of your driveway or sidewalk, too. And it looks great. Even your street number can be lit by solar power lights. Never get a cold pizza again, just because the delivery boy does not find the right house in the dark.
Solar power flashlights are a great gadget when on the beach, on a fishing or hunting trip, camping or on the way in general. No more empty batteries – often one charge lasts for weeks. Then expose the solar power flashlight to the sun and it gets charged again. Most solar power lights use power saving LED to guarantee extended light duration. Some solar power lights are even motion activated so they get lit only when necessary. It’s a good protection against burglary as well.
If you are loving outdoor activities, you may not only want to check out the solar power flashlights but the emergency solar power lights as well. Among them are the most expensive solar power lights I have ever seen (it’s the yellow slim thing).
This mindmap shows a bunch of solar power lights for different purposes. Simply click the mindmap to enlarge. If you want to see the hyperlinks then, click “outline” in the left corner below. Click a link to get to more detailed information about the particular solar power light you are interested in.
Mindmap on solar power lights (click to enlarge)
Video Part 8: “The Final Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2009
Why do they bake electric solar panels in an oven?
In the previous videos you have seen, how solar cells work, how they are being produced and how they have been interconnected in electric solar panels. In this last video you see the last production steps of electric solar panels. Also you learn, why electric solar panels never perish and in which sizes and in which places electric solar panels are being installed for different purposes. Now, after all, you have gained a better understanding of electrical current, of solar cells and of electric solar panels in particular.
Part 8/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 7: “How Does The Metal Grid Get Onto Solar Cells For Electric Solar Panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2009
This video shows, how the electric “wires” are being applied to a solar cell to be a part of electric solar panels later.
After you have learned, which way the electrons take in electric solar panels, this video shows, how the electric connections, the grid and the electric poles, are applied to solar cells for electric solar panels. Amazing, that they do not use wires but a metal compound that is scraped onto the solar cell and than baked to become firm. Electric solar panels consist of a bunch of solar cells that have to be interconnected to guarantee the flow of the current. Finally, the different parts are being assembled to complete electric solar panels.
Part 7/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making Of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 6: “Why The PN-Junction Is So Important In Electric Solar Panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 20, 2009
How does the pn-junction separate the positive and the negative layer inside electric solar panels?
In this video a slide is used to illustrate the principle of the pn-junction in electric solar panels. Photons push electrons out of their place and send them on a strange way to drive an electric appliance. Although the process of generating electrical current with electric solar panels is very complex, you will learn easily what is happening inside a solar cell. It’s very entertaining and even kids can understand the key process of electric solar panels.
Part 6/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 5 “Silicon For Electric Solar Panels Is Getting Doped For a Second Time”
Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2009
After boron atoms have been added to the silicon grid, it is now doped with phosphor.
That is the secret that lets electric solar panels produce electricity. A boat and blue light then play an important role during the electric solar panels production process to apply a blue anti-reflection layer to the solar cells. What is happening inside the electric solar panels, why 2 different layers inside the solar cell are crucial and what a positive-negative-junction is: it’s all being explained in this video on the making of electric solar panels.
Part 5/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 4:”Why Silicon gets doped for the utilization in electric solar panels”
Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2009
Pure silicon is necessary to be used for production of electric solar panels. But after a more-step cleaning process, the pure silicon is being contaminated again.
The purposeful contamination is vital for the functionality of electric solar panels. Experts call this “doping”. How the silicon for electric solar panels is being applied an how that looks at atomic scale, you can see in this video. The production of electric solar panels is very complex. But this video series explains every single step in a way, even kids can understand how electric solar panels are being made and how they are working.
Part 4/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Video Part 3: “Where Does Silicon For Electric Solar Panels Come From?”
Posted by admin on Oct 19, 2009
Silicon is the most frequently used material in electric solar panels. But where does it come from?
Silicon is the second most element on earth. Sand and quartz consist of silicon so that supplies are literally endless. To produce electric solar panels, only pure silicon can be used. How is pure silicon fetched out of sand or quartz to make electric solar panels out of it? This video shows the entire process, starting with the reduction of oxygen, the pulverization and finally the chemical cleaning of the silicon. And how pure must silicon be usable for electric solar panels?
Video Part 2: “Electric Solar Panels: What happens inside?”
Posted by admin on Oct 18, 2009
Do you want to know, how electric solar panels work and how photons and electrons generate electricity?
This is part 2 of the 8 part video series “Solar Cells For Beginners”. In this video you will learn, how photons push electrons out of their place inside electric solar panels. Why sand or quartz are the vital ingredients of electric solar panels and what have charcoal and pieces of wood got to do with electric solar panels? This video is easy to understand and very entertaining.
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Video Part 1: “What Do Electric Solar Panels Consist of? How Are They Being Produced? And How Do They Work at Last?”
Posted by admin on Oct 18, 2009
This video is Part 1 of 8 from a TV show that explains the principles and the production of electric solar panels.
The show answers the questions:
– How do solar cells work?
– How are solar cells being made?
- How are electric solar panels being made?
In these videos you learn everything about electric solar panels. What components electric solar panels are made of. What photons and electrons have got to do with it and why clouds do not stop electric solar panels from working.
In the first part, Armin Maiwald explains what electric solar panels are about to generate: electrical current / electricity. What exactly is current and what parts of the sunlight help generating current in electric solar panels?
Although the topics “electricity”, “solar cells” and “electric solar panels” are very complex in detail, Armin and his team manage to put it in simple words and visuals so that even kids can understand, how electric solar panels work.
Part 1/8 of “Solar Cells For Beginners – The Making of Electric Solar Panels”
Since the show is an German TV show, I have added subtitles. You can see the text at a glance by clicking the text symbol below the video screen. If you click a sentence then, you can jump directly to the particular scene.
