Who likes to shell out thousands of rupees in paying electricity bills when there’s a smarter way to not pay at all? Well, in all honesty, nobody! And the smarter way out of the trap is to install solar panels at home.
There are three major types of solar panels that you can install to generate free electricity from the Sun. If you’ve been meaning to go solar too but do not yet know which panels would suit your needs the most, we’re here to help.
We will walk you through the details of the three most popular types of solar panels in India and which one you should install at your home.
Dive in!
3 types of solar panels that you should know about
The average cost of fossil-fuel-based electricity from commercial grids in India is no less than Rs. 8/unit. On the other hand, solar electricity that is free causes no harm to the environment.
Huge savings on electricity bills and not hurting the environment are reasons enough that the world is switching towards the use of solar energy– so should you.
That being said, let’s introduce to you the 3 types of solar panels you must know about when planning to install a solar system at your home.
Polycrystalline solar panels
Polycrystalline solar panels are one of the three types of solar panels that are quite popular in India.
These are made up of multi-crystalline silicon cells and their efficiency is between 16% to 17%. Some of the most significant reasons that these panels are immensely popular in India are as follows.
- The Indian government offers an attractive subsidy on ALMM-approved DCR solar panels. DCR solar panels are those types of solar panels that are manufactured in India. Currently, poly solar panels are the only ones that are manufactured in the country. Hence, if you want to avail a subsidy, poly panels are the only option as of now.
- They’re the most affordable type of solar panels. The current market rate of poly panels is about Rs. 25.5/watt.
Monocrystalline solar panels
These solar panels are the next in our list of most popular types of solar panels in India, and they’re quickly closing the gap between their popularity in comparison to poly panels.
Here are the few features that set monocrystalline solar panels apart from the others:
- They’re made up of mono cells i.e., they’re made of a single crystal of silicon. Hence, their efficiency is higher, ranging between 19% to 20%.
- When space is a constraint, they’re quite useful because they produce more energy.
The current market rate at which mono panels are sold is about Rs. 30/watt.
Bifacial solar panels
These solar panels are quite advanced. They’re also made up of mono cells but both sides of the panels (front and rear) produce power. Hence, their efficiency is as high as 22%.
In other words, they use sunlight in the most efficient way out of the other types of solar panels.
Their current market cost is between Rs. 33/watt to Rs. 36/watt.
Which of the 3 types of solar panels should you buy?
This is probably the toughest thing to do – pick one type out of the three. In order to help you out of the dilemma, we’ve made this section that’ll help you understand your requirements so that you can pick the right panel.
Let’s get you started.
1. Consider your budget
From the information we have mentioned so far, it should be clear that there’s a significant cost difference between the three types of solar panels. So, we’d say, the first thing to do is to respect your budget.
If you have a limited budget and you want to avail a subsidy, go for polycrystalline solar panels. The financial help that the government offers on DCR solar panels is:
- 40% on L1 rates for solar systems up to 3KW.
- 20% on L1 rates for solar systems anywhere above 3 KW and up to 10 KW.
If you want to install solar systems for your housing society, you will get a subsidy of 20% on L1 rates up to 500 KW.
2. Consider the shadow and space elements
Polycrystalline solar panels might not be the better choice for you if, a) your rooftop is clouded by shadows and b), the rooftop space is limited.
In these cases, monocrystalline solar panels are better because since they are more efficient than poly panels, you won’t need as many mono modules to produce the same amount of power that poly panels will.
Having mono panels will increase the chances that you will be able to locate a shadow-free area as you won’t need as much space as poly panels would.
In such cases, having monocrystalline panels is the best option no matter the cost difference.
3. Consider the weather conditions in your state/city
If the irradiance is less, monocrystalline panels would be better than polycrystalline panels. The reason is again their efficiency to generate more power. Most places in India that see an extended patch of monsoon should ideally opt for monocrystalline solar panels.
Wondering why bifacial panels didn’t make it to our list of favorites despite being the most efficient? It’s because they’re also the most expensive. Hence, their use is more popular in the commercial sector.
Ground-mounted bifacial solar panels with single-axis or dual-axis solar trackers are quite popular. The use of bifacial solar panels isn’t that common or popular in India for residential installations.
Comparison table between the 3 types of solar panels to help you make the right choice
| Polycrystalline solar panels | Monocrystalline solar panels | Bifacial solar panels |
| They’re the most affordable | They’re costlier than poly panels | They’re the most expensive out of the two |
| Subsidy is offered | No subsidy is available | No subsidy is available |
| The efficiency ranges between 16% to 17% | The efficiency ranges between 19% to 20% | The efficiency is up to 22% |
| They require more space | They require lesser space than poly panels | They’re better of as ground-mounted solar panels |
Our verdict: Final words of wisdom
In our opinion, monocrystalline solar panels would be the future of rooftop solar systems for residential installations (individual homes and housing societies).
They might cost you slightly more upfront but they will produce more power and work better in low light conditions and the rainy season.
However, if you want to take the benefit of a subsidy and your state/city receives abundant sunlight (and monsoons don’t prolong), you can still go for polycrystalline solar panels out of the three types of solar panels we mentioned.
