New Solar Panels

[Camper]

Buying new solar panels for my cargo trailer.....

Poly or Mono...

Which do you own?

 

[AmargosaWayne]

Almost a religious topic. Dogma and orthodoxy versus science and pragmatism.

I own Poly [Renogy 100W] panels. No bad experiences over seven years. The oldest panels are still working.

 

[JDub]

I've got both. All Renogy as well except for 1 Dokio Flex. They work fine. I prefer the mono's though. Just a personal preference...

Cheers!

 

[mudbunny]

It's pretty much potato, potahto. Maybe the only real difference is price and it's trivial. Seems like poly panels are slightly smaller size if space is a problem.

 

[GotSmart]

Unless you are doing a solar farm, there is not a lot of difference.

Look at SanTan Solar for pricing.

 

[Headache]

It depends on where you'll be most of the time. If you will be in western WA most of the time polys will squeeze out a little more UV than mono.

 

[denis.davila]

I think there is no too much difference between them. I got those CIGS solar panels for mine and actually it depends on what you like.

 

[Camper]

I bought my panels last June, but thanks for the info. I bought rigid panels.

 

[bullfrog]

Just to clarify I believe mono is generally more efficient in full sun. Poly is more efficient in cloudy conditions. Rigid is more durable than flex and can be solidly mounted to a rack. SanTan solar has extremely cheap rigid panels. Everything is subject to change and improving.

 

[Happy Camper]

The downside of poly is mostly for larger installs like a house that gets a touch of shade on a panel. That small spot of shade will cause the entire install to put out less.

Mono doesn't have that issue.

So if you plan on parking in partial shade and have more than one panel get mono.

If you're planning on having more than one panel and parking in shade isn't in the plan, get poly. It's simple.

For vans with 2-4 panels I don't think the difference is all that drastic. So either will work just fine. Google will tell you plenty of things, but it doesn't always put it into context. There's the context.

Worked for a solar company with house and larger building installs. We would actually get written permission and cut down trees and move things such as vent stacks, that caused any shade on poly panels. It was that important to getting everything out of them. They worked fine in overcast conditions. There is actually more light when overcast, with less heat. Which is ideal for solar if either type.

Larger mono builds aren't affected in the same way.

Company always preferred poly panels if we could make certain they would be in a no shade zone. If we couldn't guarantee that, we went with mono panels.

Again, with just a few panels it won't really matter that much, if at all in practical terms.

I really hope this information helps. Every 5th thread has this back and forth on panels with everyone kinda sorta knowing something. Now you know exactly. Let's make it at least every 20th thread please lol.

 

[bullfrog]

^^^ Preferred doesn’t mean better, the mono panels are more efficient than poly, but only a little, so in smaller installations very little difference. Poly panels are cheaper generally so it makes sense they would be preferred. Right? Can you show a reference for “mono doesn’t have that issue.” I wasn’t able to find any in fact both types were affected just mono not as much due to the difference in efficiency. Cost then became the determining factor. How multiple panels are wired and controlled became an issue as well.

 

[rruff]

The downside of poly is mostly for larger installs like a house that gets a touch of shade on a panel. That small spot of shade will cause the entire install to put out less.
Mono doesn't have that issue.

Mono vs poly has nothing to do with this. It's how the panel is designed and wired. A basic panel (poly or mono) will lose nearly all it's power if even a small part is shaded. But there are ways to improve shade tolerance. https://www.thesolarnerd.com/blog/which-solar-panels-work-best-in-shade/