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5 most recurring doubts about photovoltaic panels 17 April 2022

5 most recurring doubts about photovoltaic panels

1 How big and heavy are solar panels?

Solar panels of various sizes can be found on the market, but we can offer as a standard measure a height of 1.8 meters, a width of 1 meter and a thickness of about 40 millimeters. Its weight is around 20 kilograms. In the market you will see panels with cells of different colors, some light blue and others dark blue. Normally those with a darker color, almost black, are monocrystalline , made with a purer silicon and therefore more efficient.

2 How do solar panels integrate with the aesthetics of the building?

In all Suntechnics installations, special attention is paid to aesthetic aspects, so that the infrastructure integrates with the company's architecture . For example, the slope of the roof is respected when anchoring the plates to the roof. The goal is for the visual impact to be minimal.

3 What material are solar panels made of?

Solar panels are made up of silicon cells that convert light energy (photons) into electricity. They are usually of two types: monocrystalline , made up of a single piece of silicon crystal, or polycrystalline , made up of a conglomerate of silicon crystals. The second is cheaper to manufacture and is less efficient than monocrystalline.

Silicon is one of the most common chemical elements in the earth's crust and is a magnificent semiconductor of electricity, which is why it is also used in the manufacture of microchips and gave its name to the famous Silicon Valley, due to the abundance of technology companies that were installed in that California region.

4 How long do solar panels last?

Photovoltaic installations have a useful life of more than 25 years , even reaching 30 years. Panel manufacturers actually offer a 25-year warranty. Much more than any appliance, vehicle or technological device. Although the durability depends on the quality of the panels and the extreme conditions to which they may be subjected.

Solar panels on the market offer a level of degradation that fluctuates around 0.50% per year, depending on their quality, which means that they will suffer a decrease in their efficiency of 15% after 25 years of use. A study by the Polytechnic University of Madrid that monitored these installations in Spain calculated that the average degradation was even lower , around 0.27% per year.

5 Do they work at night or in winter?

Solar panels do not work at night, of course. But they do take advantage of every minute of the day in Spain, as we have more hours of sunshine than any other European country and that is why we are leaders in photovoltaics.

In the calculation we make of consumption and savings for each client, the parameters of the region where the photovoltaic installation is located are taken into account: hours of sunshine during the different seasons of the year, percentage of cloudy days, etc.

Solar panels are manufactured to withstand all types of temperatures and inclement weather. Although in winter the production is lower, due to the decrease in hours of sunshine, solar panels perform better with temperatures below 25 . So the production will be reduced by the lack of light but, at the same time, it will be more efficient in the hours of sun because the photovoltaic cells overheat less and absorb and transport energy better.

At Suntechnics we have the best installers, products and a process made personally for you and your type of need. Do you dare to know more?

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