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Text and/or other creative content from this version of Solar panel was copied or moved into Applications of photovoltaics with this edit on 00:03, 17 March 2022 (UTC). The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists.

On 16 October 2021, it was proposed that this article be moved from Solar cell panel to Solar panel. The result of the discussion was moved.

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:

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 ^[1] 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).

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 22 September 2022 and 8 December 2022. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): XingboGao (article contribs).

— Assignment last updated by Rt2510 (talk) 04:12, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Hello @XingboGao Good choice of article as this is such an important subject and the article has a lot of problems as you can see at the top (when viewing on web).

But what are you thinking of doing in such a short time as you have left? If you need help feel free to ask. Chidgk1 (talk) 07:42, 4 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Ah I see now you made a change before my comment - thanks for adding that “ Overheating is the most important factor for the efficiency of the solar panel.” and citing. Chidgk1 (talk) 15:40, 7 December 2022 (UTC)[reply]

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".^[1] Chidgk1 (talk) 17:33, 16 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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.^[1][2] Chidgk1 (talk) 17:56, 16 September 2023 (UTC)[reply]

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'.^[1] 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.^[2] Chidgk1 (talk) 19:00, 25 January 2024 (UTC)[reply]

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

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)[reply]