Thanks Cathy for getting up so early to answer my question. I have today removed 2 soil pipe stacks from my roof at a cost of about £40 which has made a lot more roof available. I just had this nagging little doubt about the Poly type not being quite so good will let you know what I eventually go for!

Cheers Barry

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Barry, click here to read a blog by Paul Hutchens which looks at the different types of panel. If you've got enough roof space, then polychrystalline should be fine, and cheaper.

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 Please could you help me to resolve a question I have re Solar Panel types. I am about to place my order for a PV system. I have had 4 estimates and all ecept one have not mentioned the problem of installing 4kWp system with the local DNO. However, the one supplier that did tell me about this was not a "salesman" type but very honest and very practical person & local. The one problem I cannot come to terms with is the panels he provides are 240watt Viessmann (Germann) Poly Chrystalline. When I challenged him over this as all the reading up I had done said Mono Chrystalline were better. However, he was adament that the Poly type work much better in the cloudier conditions we ge get in this country. Could you please offer me some advise. I have one more quote to go from E-on on Tuesday who use Sanyo HIT N240SE10 so more confusion on the way!!

Thank You Barry.

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Thank you for your comments.

There are some very good points raised, and I think it’s important to first address why we aren’t using ‘standard’ test conditions for our array.  There are already many highly-regarded tests run in these conditions (such as the Photon International test), which give comprehensive results.  However, our sole intention with the SunGift test array is to monitor how different systems perform in real-life conditions in the south west of England (where most of our customers are based).  This then enables us to make price/performance-related decisions with a better understanding of the facts, rather than simply relying on the standard information from manufacturers. We feel that it is a useful tool to be able to advise customers on their options.

In terms of the link, we’re sorry that it doesn’t seem to give all the information it should.  This is something we are working on and hope to have resolved soon.  Unfortunately, we will not be able to give full access to the suite, as this would allow access to change the parameters, but we should be able to give more details on the individual performance of the different modules.  In the meantime, we have formulated an up-to-date chart comparing the output of the panels which can be found here, and a couple of screen grabs showing the performance of the Solar Edge Panels: here and here. 

If you are interested in further details on our test array, please come and visit us at our offices in Exeter.

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As others have also commented, the links fail to provide access to the table that is supposed to support the claims in the text.  The Sheffield University solar farm trial gives detailed information on a much wider range of PV systems and has the advantage of not being in the business of selling anything.  By inviting micro-generators from all over the country to submit their readings it provides regular performance data in a wide variety of settings.

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Can I see the online monitoring figures for each of the panels on your test array anywhere online? I went to the SolarEdge dashboard but could only find array totals. Thanks..

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This review seems a little simplistic. If one was to seriously compare panels one would want consideration of the behaviour of the panels over a temperature range (Monos generally behave worse at higher temperatures) possible consideration of colour temperature performance. No reference to sample sizes and possible variation of performance within samples. Finally, something that will concern many, as the panels are a long term commitment, how badly they degrade over time. I see many guarantees but I doubt many customers have access to reference test rigs to be able to substantiate a claim.

For those reasons alone I'm happy with my "poor performing" Sanyo HITs

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I was dissappointed with the data available on this comparison which is a great idea - the graph at the top is too small to be useful and the link doesn't actually provide any panel type comparisons - is there not more useful data you could make available?

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I recently installed Solar PV and during my selection process this was a big concern. How to find out if one panel make had an advantage over another. Also to consider is the visual appearance. Blue, black, frame style. I am happy with my final choice of Mitsubishi black MLT250 but it was not easy getting there. 

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Hi,

I'm seriously considering having solar panels fitted and have had a few surveys carried out. All installers recommended different panels and claimed the one they recommended was best suited to my property.

Sungrid, Sanyo Hit, Sun station, Conergy, Solarcentury

I was beginning to believe the Sanyo was the best product but after reading your test results it seems I may be wrong.

Any advice would be very much appreciated asap. 

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Sheffied University are also doing a study: The Sheffield Solar Farm

designed to measure the use of real world devices in Northerly locations.

If you have solar PV installed you can "donate" your data to help them

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