How To Make Solar Panels More Efficient? (2023)

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Want to know how to make solar panels more efficient? Read along!

In the US, there are approximately 1.47 million solar panels in use. Solar panels are one of the most sustainable energy sources that use light and heat from the sun to generate electricity. The efficiency of solar panels has improved significantly in recent years, making more and more businesses invest in solar panels. Solar panels are usually able to process 15 to 22% of solar energy into usable energy and are made to last for more than 25 years.

The higher the efficiency rating, the more sunlight your solar panels can convert into electricity to power businesses and homes. So, if your solar panel has an efficiency rate of 17%, it means 17% of sunlight will be converted into electricity.

How Many Solar Panels to Power the United States

Solar panels do not work unvaryingly under all conditions. Your job doesn’t end with investing in solar panels. You need to work to improve the efficiency of solar panels.

What You Will Need to Improve Solar Panel Efficiency

Before discussing how you can improve solar system efficiency, make sure that you:

Invest in efficient solar panel models
Buy systems with High Concentrated Photovoltaic Cells (CPV)
Have solar panel cleaning tools, such as wash brush, scrubber, and water-fed poles
Have backup batteries
Invest in a solar concentrator

Ways to Improve Solar Panel Efficiency

Here is how to make solar panels more efficient and make the most of your investment:

Don’t Install Panels in Shaded Areas

Solar panels generate electricity through sunlight. By installing panels under shaded areas, you are basically blocking the light. Shade is not equivalent to cloudy weather. During cloudy weather, solar panels produce 30% to 40% of the energy they would normally produce under ideal weather conditions, and under shades, the performance decreases by more than 50%.

Most people know that installing panels in shaded areas affects efficiency. However, what they don’t realize is that even when one photovoltaic is shaded, it affects the energy generated by adjacent cells.

Don’t install your solar panels under tall trees, and make sure you analyze the site before installing the panels – or else you might have to go through the tiring experience of getting them reinstalled.

Buy Solar Panels With High Concentrated Photovoltaic (CPV) Cells

CPV solar panels are made with a very low temperate coefficient to directly generate electricity through sunlight. Traditional solar panels operate at 22% efficiency, whereas CPV panels work at 45% efficiency. But they also come at a price. CPV solar panels cost four times more than traditional solar panels. CPV solar panels are worth considering for commercial businesses. You can easily find a supplier and take the efficiency level to 45%.

Install a Solar Concentrator

When you invest in solar panels, make sure that you also get yourself a solar concentrator –so that less solar cell material is required to capture the same amount of light as a high-concentrating energy system. Solar concentrators use optical devices that help to maximize solar energy, creating electricity more cheaply and ensuring that it doesn’t lose any power.

The solar concentrator’s primary roles are to increase the intensity of solar energy by concentrating the available energy over a large area and drastically reducing heat loss. They increase efficiency by 20% and save you money.

Place Your Solar Panels to the South

The placement and orientation of solar panels is crucial. In order to maximize production, you need to understand the ideal location for the panels.

Solar panels facing east or west produce 20 percent less energy – you might have to install a few more panels this way. South-facing solar panels offer maximized electricity production by receiving sunlight for 6 to 8 hours a day.

Don’t Forget to Clean Your Solar Panels

It is recommended for you to thoroughly clean solar panels at least once or twice a year. Due to the upward angle of solar panels, they are more prone to bird droppings and dust. To maintain efficiency and your investment, get them cleaned by a professional or maybe invest in solar panel cleaning products.

During snowy days, you will have to remove snow from the panels every day to ensure that sunlight doesn’t get blocked.

Dirt and dust can reduce efficiency to 5%. However, if your panels get extremely dirty, their efficiency can be reduced to 20%.

Take advice from solar panel experts, so they can guide you on how to maintain solar panels and which cleaning products you should invest in.

Buy High-Quality Solar Panels

The first and most important way you can improve the efficiency of solar panels is by investing in high-quality solar panels. Solar panels can’t transform all the energy they receive, making it crucial for you to invest in efficient models.

Solar panels are made with different materials, so efficiency differs from model to model. Solar panels with 20% efficiency are considered high-quality. However, the latest models have an efficiency of up to 28%, so set your eyes on the latest models.

Additional Ways to Improve Solar Panel Efficiency

Invest in energy management software to monitor the amount of energy generated by solar panels. Lower than usual levels may indicate that the panels need a thorough cleaning.
Invest in solar batteries to ensure that you have power to use during the night and rainy weather. You can consider buying:

NiMH Rechargeable AAA Battery Pack (B07V5L95ZT)

EBL AA Rechargeable Batteries (B07DPJF1WD)

Tenergy Solla Rechargeable NiMH AA Battery (B07T8XLW2W)

Wrapping Up

We hope that you now know how to make solar panels more efficient. People are investing more and more in solar panels to reduce their impact on the environment. The efficiency and quality of solar panels is improving year by year. To increase the efficiency of your solar panels, you need to make sure that you invest in solar panels with high-concentrated photovoltaic cells, install a solar connector and batteries, and thoroughly clean them once a year.