Types of solar panel

There are three main types of solar panel in commercial production, all with some advantages and disadvantages. All three are based on silicon semiconductors - the difference being the form that the silicon is in. Panels based on other chemistries are under development: Cadmium telluride and copper indium diselenide panels may well appear in production soon; and also research is being conducted on using the photosynthesis effect that plants use to convert sunlight to useful forms of energy. However, you are unlikely to come across technologies other than silicon for the time being, so we will just consider silicon on this page.

• Monocrystalline solar cells
• Polycrystalline solar cells
• Amorphous solar panels