What is the best solar panel?

Question

In terms of efficiency and cost, what is the best solar panel.

I am limited in the number of panels I can put up (probably 6-8) so they must be efficient, but cost is important also.

What about these panels that can collect a wider range of light frequency?

Answer 1

your initial outlay for a solar panel is very large in terms of output.......somewhere around $4 a watt......ie you want a panel that will run a 100 watt lightbulb? $400.00 please.

enough panels to collect enough energy to recharge a battery bank to run the house overnight? well, I've been doing a lot of research  for my condo project in St Thomas and it comes out to 10-20,000 US $  for a 1 bedroom apartment.

Now, after about ten years you have made your investemnt back....

and there are a lot of government rebate programs that lower the cost..

what I have found is solar is nice, but depending on how far north you live you may only have 4 usable hours  of light a day.

you may very well be better with a wind generator.wind blows all the time after all...Bergy and SouthWest Windpower make two good small home units...start there

Answer 2

You have to decide which is more important to you, cost or efficiency.

The most efficient solar panels that are commercially available cost more than twice as much per square foot than the cheapest ones.  Ultimately, I believe that the cost per watt was actually better on the cheaper, least efficient panels, but then you need a lot of square footage in order to generate any substantial power.

So it comes down to what you have more of, space or money.

The new panels that collect a wider range of light are not currently available commercially, and when they are I am sure that they will be expensive.  I have read the research but have not heard of anyone mass producing them yet.