Talk:Solar panel

Business-side info

I had previously added some business information on solar module manufacturers, as well as a link to a global directory of solar module manufacturers, solar module manufacturing equipment suppliers, and solar module installation companies. The information was taken down by someone who hadn't actually reviewed the validity of the information but was deleting based on the fact that I posted up several links to ENF.

On the suggestion of one of the people that removed the information, I am submitting suggested comments/links here in the hope that other editors will evaluate the relevance and resubmit it to the main page:

Photovoltaic Panel (Module) Brands

There are hundreds of photovoltaic panel (module) brands in the world, and numbers are increasing fast due to the low entry barriers. The bare minimum a company needs to become a manufacturers is a laminating machine and some soldering irons (for a manual production line). This has lead to a particularly strong explosion in new panel manufacturers in China, although the majority of Chinese companies do not have the certification most western companies require (in April 2007, only 19 Chinese panel manufacturers held IEC, TUV or UL certification).

A 2007 global survey of photovoltaic installation companies identified the best panel manufacturers to be:

1. - SunPower Corporation (USA)
2. - Schott Solar (Germany)
3. - SolarWorld (Germany)

The company with the best quality panels was identified as Sanyo (Japan) and the best value for money panels was from Suntech Power (China).

Should aluminium nanocylinders section be in this article?

I see someone has made a hidden comment - I have moved the below section here for discussion

---

Research by Imperial College London has shown that solar panel efficiency is improved by studding the light-receiving semiconductor surface with aluminum nanocylinders, similar to the ridges on Lego blocks. The scattered light then travels along a longer path in the semiconductor, absorbing more photons to be converted into current. Although these nanocylinders have been used previously (aluminum was preceded by gold and silver), the light scattering occurred in the near-infrared region and visible light was absorbed strongly. Aluminum was found to have absorbed the ultraviolet part of the spectrum, while the visible and near-infrared parts of the spectrum were found to be scattered by the aluminum surface. This, the research argued, could bring down the cost significantly and improve the efficiency as aluminum is more abundant and less costly than gold and silver. The research also noted that the increase in current makes thinner film solar panels technically feasible without "compromising power conversion efficiencies, thus reducing material consumption". Chidgk1 (talk) 17:33, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

References

Should this section be in this article

It seems a bit waffly- if any use should maybe be in rooftop solar not here?

---

Implication onto electricity bill management and energy investment 

There is no silver bullet in electricity or energy demand and bill management, because customers (sites) have different specific situations, e.g. different comfort/convenience needs, different electricity tariffs, or different usage patterns. Electricity tariff may have a few elements, such as daily access and metering charge, energy charge (based on kWh, MWh) or peak demand charge (e.g. a price for the highest 30min energy consumption in a month). PV is a promising option for reducing energy charge when electricity price is reasonably high and continuously increasing, such as in Australia and Germany. However, for sites with peak demand charge in place, PV may be less attractive if peak demands mostly occur in the late afternoon to early evening, for example residential communities. Overall, energy investment is largely an economical decision and it is better to make investment decisions based on systematical evaluation of options in operational improvement, energy efficiency, onsite generation and energy storage. Chidgk1 (talk) 17:56, 16 September 2023 (UTC)

References

Should this paragraph be deleted as out of date?

Some photovoltaic systems, such as rooftop installations, can supply power directly to an electricity user. In these cases, the installation can be competitive when the output cost matches the price at which the user pays for their electricity consumption. This situation is sometimes called 'retail grid parity', 'socket parity' or 'dynamic grid parity'. Research carried out by UN-Energy in 2012 suggests areas of sunny countries with high electricity prices, such as Italy, Spain and Australia, and areas using diesel generators, have reached retail grid parity. Chidgk1 (talk) 19:00, 25 January 2024 (UTC)

deleted Chidgk1 (talk) 18:24, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

References

Other names?

Should we remove

“ Solar panels are also known as solar cell panels, solar electric panels, or PV modules.” from lead as too niche or too technical? Chidgk1 (talk) 18:28, 24 March 2024 (UTC)

Importance of solar panels for climate change mitigation

Hi. I’m a relatively new editor here. I added a section with this kind of title in February of this year, because it didn’t seem like there was any section already present where it made sense to add it, and it seemed like an obvious and important addition. It was reverted, and I’m having trouble locating the explanation for that, although I know I saw one, and I know it said something like my addition was off-topic. I’d like to question that and learn if there’s a better way I could have added this information without reversion, but I’d like to find that comment again first. Can anyone explain how I would find that? Thanks in advance. Loupgrru (talk) 19:11, 25 June 2024 (UTC)

Your section may be better suited for an article such as solar power. However, this is already well covered in that article. This article is about the panels specifically, not solar power in general. For reference, this is the edit: https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=Solar_panel&diff=next&oldid=1209443382 Ita140188 (talk) 12:53, 1 July 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Engineering in the 21st Century - Section 002

This article is currently the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 19 August 2024 and 3 December 2024. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): E102G13 (article contribs). Peer reviewers: Group12e102, DCAS2024, E102G13.

— Assignment last updated by Group12e102 (talk) 18:04, 13 October 2024 (UTC)

Great - hope you might be able to add the missing cites (tagged “citation needed” and in the testing section) or indeed delete the uncited statements if they are wrong. Chidgk1 (talk) 12:55, 16 October 2024 (UTC)