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Black Solar Panels

We have all seen the classic blue solar panels on rooves across the country. But you may have seen a slow rise in sleeker, better looking black solar panels and thought to yourself, what’s the difference between them? And-should I go for blue or black?

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Honest Knowledge

Blue & Black –What’s the difference?

The difference between black and blue solar panels is the way that they are made. All solar panels are made from silicon crystals as this is one of the best materials available for converting sunlight into energy for your home. Without going into too much of the nitty gritty details, black solar panels are more complicated to produce than blue ones. The differences in production essentially mean that a black solar panel is made up of lots of single crystal solar cells put together, and a blue panel is made up of lots of multi crystal solar cells put together.

Because light interacts differently with single crystal (or monocrystalline) cells than it does with multi crystal (or polycrystalline) cells, this is what makes black solar panels look black to the naked eye.

Blue Or Black?

There are a lot of places online that will tell you that black panels are more beneficial than blue ones because they absorb more light and can therefore produce more electricity.

Theoretically this is true, in fact, black panels do absorb more light than blue ones. BUT, and it is a big but, solar panels get warmer as the day goes on. The more light they absorb the more heat they absorb too, and when solar panels get too warm they start to lose how effectively they convert sunlight into electricity, making them less efficient.

A big deciding factor in the efficiency of solar panels is the fact that we are in the UK. In the UK we don’t get the same level of sunlight that a Spain, or a Portugal does, nor do we get the temperatures. This means that the difference in efficiency between blue and black panels is actually negligible. In fact, it’s so negligible that you would barely notice the difference to your bills either way.

So, when you are asking yourself the question of black solar panels or blue, the real decision doesn’t come down to effectiveness or efficiency of the panels themselves. It ultimately comes down to looks. Whether you choose black solar panels for your home or blue is in practical terms going to come down to whichever you prefer the look of, because the difference between the two is so small.