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Solar Panel Comparison for Installers

The document compares iRadiance solar panels to standard silicon solar panels. iRadiance panels have higher efficiency levels at 31.8% cell efficiency and 42% panel efficiency compared to 20% and 26% for silicon panels. iRadiance panels also have lower degradation rates, higher useful life, and allow for individual panel performance monitoring. While iRadiance panels have a higher recommended retail price of $0.95/W, this price includes the cost of a two-axis tracker whereas silicon panels require additional costs for trackers. Maps show regions where iRadiance panels would be more cost effective to use over silicon due to efficiency and lifetime advantages.

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Ramon Cuevas
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95 views4 pages

Solar Panel Comparison for Installers

The document compares iRadiance solar panels to standard silicon solar panels. iRadiance panels have higher efficiency levels at 31.8% cell efficiency and 42% panel efficiency compared to 20% and 26% for silicon panels. iRadiance panels also have lower degradation rates, higher useful life, and allow for individual panel performance monitoring. While iRadiance panels have a higher recommended retail price of $0.95/W, this price includes the cost of a two-axis tracker whereas silicon panels require additional costs for trackers. Maps show regions where iRadiance panels would be more cost effective to use over silicon due to efficiency and lifetime advantages.

Uploaded by

Ramon Cuevas
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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COMPARING iRADIANCE TO

SILICON SOLAR PANELS

February 2021
iRadiance vs. Silicon Solar Panel

Key Features Standard PV Solar Panels Chitendai iRadiance Solar Panels

1. Solar Panel Efficiency 20% 31.8%

2. Solar Cell Efficiency 26% 42%

3. Recommend Retail Price $0.30/W Does not include tracker $0.95/W includes tracker

4. Cost of Tracker $0.60/W - $0.90/W Included in price above

5. Type of Tracker 1 axis tracker 2 axis tracker

6. Ease of Installation Easy without tracker. Installations Lightweight, rooftop compatible, and
with a few solar panels (2 – 10), are fit onto standard PV mounting
tricky and costly to install with a brackets. Some expertise required.
tracker.

7. Cost Approx. $175.5 (without tracker) $525.50 (with tracker)

7. Temperature Coefficient* -0.34% / °C -0.10% / °C

8. Degradation Rate** 0.45 % / year 0.05 % / year

2% first year degradation 0,05% first year degradation

9. Useful Life 20 – 25 years +25 years

10. Dimensions (L x W x H) 2.1m x 1.3m x 0.04m 1.6m x 1.5m x 0.14m

11. Area 2.73m2 2.52m2

12 Weight 35.3 kg (77.8 lb) 38.1kg (84lb)

13.Performance Monitoring*** Per Group of solar panels. Per solar panel

Notes

• *Temperature coefficient determines the loss in efficiency as the temperature increases. It means @25 °C environment
temperature the silicon solar panel will lose 8.75% in performance; Meanwhile iRadiance will lose only 2.75% in performance.

• **It has been proven that the performance of multijunction solar cells do not degrade over a 6 year period. Chitendai has
calculated a degradation rate of 0.05% per year, which is 9 times better than that of the silicon solar cells. This means in year 20
your solar installation will produce the energy you need, and you won’t need to oversize your installation to make up for the
losses between years 20 and 25.

• ***Silicon solar panel performance is generally monitored through an inverter. The problem with this is that the inverter could
have 100s of solar panels connected to it, making it harder to pin point problems in performance. iRadiance allows performance
monitoring to be undertaken on each solar panel.

Project Icarus | IM Page 2


iRadiance vs. Silicon Solar Panel

The below map shows areas where it will be more cost effective to use
iRadiance solar panels over silicon solar panels.

North America

Project Icarus | IM Page 3


iRadiance vs. Silicon Solar Panel

The below map shows areas where it will be more cost effective to use
iRadiance solar panels over silicon solar panels.

South America

Project Icarus | IM Page 4

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