
Key Flaw in Solar Panel Efficiency Identified - surfsvammel
https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/solar-cell-defect-mystery-solved-after-decades-of-global-effort/
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shereadsthenews
The article is very poorly written and contains several major errors. "As the
electronic charge in the solar cells gets transformed into sunlight"? The
original announcement is at [1].

One wonders if this kind of research is relevant. Utility-scale PV does not
use the very highest quality silicon panels. They just get a lot of cheap
land. Panel efficiency is mostly of interest for space flight and other exotic
applications where ordinary silicon panels aren't even used. Unless this makes
panels cheaper on a per-joule basis, do we care?

1: [https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/solar-cell-
defect...](https://www.manchester.ac.uk/discover/news/solar-cell-defect-
mystery-solved-after-decades-of-global-effort/)

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riffraff
isn't panel efficiency important for end-user-installed panels, rather than
large power producers' installations? E.g. home use, or factories.

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adrianN
Euros per installed Watt is the important metric. It has been dominated by
installation cost (not panel cost) for a while now.

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roel_v
It's one metric, not the only one. Im my residential installation, I was
constrained by roof surface. Given certain subsidies, it would have made
economic sense for me to pay more per watt if that had meant I could have
produced more overall (up to a point, of course).

~~~
walrus01
Using an example of current generation silicon cells, it certainly makes sense
not to buy a lot of old technology polycrystalline 72 cell panels with a 300W
rating, if you can buy mono si 72 cell 365-370W rated panels instead. There is
only so much space on a house roof for a dozen or two dozen, 2.0 x 1.0 meter
size panels.

But beyond "top grade 156mm mono cells", such as you can get in a new 360W stc
rated panel, there is significantly diminished returns in dollars per watt.
Yes you can get sunpower 23% efficient panels but they will literally cost
twice as much.

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the8472
Actual paper:
[https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.5091759](https://aip.scitation.org/doi/pdf/10.1063/1.5091759)

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perfunctory
> for every kW of equivalent sunlight, about 200W of electrical power can be
> generated.

I wish journalists learned to use consistent units. 0.2kW would be better.

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cheerlessbog
Just be glad they didn't mix up kW and kWh ("megawatts per year")

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dang
Url changed from [https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-identify-a-key-
flaw-...](https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-identify-a-key-flaw-in-
solar-panel-efficiency-after-40-years-of-searching), which points to this.

