You have heard many times about the N type and P type solar panels and you may wonder what exactly these solar panels do and what is difference between N-type and P-type solar panels. Before buying solar panel you must know the contrast between them. Without wasting any time lets see what is real difference between them.
P-type Solar Panels
Solar panels are made by using silicon (wafers). Silicon is a semi conductor, semi conductor is the material whose properties lies between conductor and insulator. In it’s purest form we cannot use silicon in manufacturing of solar panels or other electrical components. It must be doped with other substances to make it more usable.
Silicon is used in solar panels because after doping it with other substances like boron or phosphorus it starts conducting electricity in sunlight. When we dope it with boron it makes P-type panels and when we dope it with phosphorus, it creates N-type solar panel.
P-type solar panels are the most widely used solar panels, P stands for positive (charged) and it is somehow an old technology. This type of solar panels is also made up of silicon wafers which are doped with Boron. Boron is an element which improves the capabilities of silicon by giving it positive electrical charge.
With the usage of boron as main substance, the top layer of silicon wafers is also doped with phosphorus which is responsible of giving it negative charge. Now at this point, it creates a p-n junction and now it is ready to convert solar energy into electrical energy.
Let’s now discuss some pros and cons of using P-type Solar panels.
Advantages:
- Commonly used solar panels.
- Cheaper than N-type.
- Easily available all over the world.
- Mature Technology
Disadvantages:
- Not as much efficient as N-type solar panels.
- As it uses boron, oxygen in air react with it to degrade the quality of solar panels.
- Efficiency decreases over time.
- Shorter life span as compared to N-type
N-type Solar Panels
“N” stands for negative (negatively charged) in N-type solar panels. It uses new technology as compared to P-type solar panels. These panels are made by using silicon wafers which are doped with phosphorus. Phosphorus has one more electron than silicon so, it creates a negatively charged region. All the newly manufactured solar panels are N-type solar panels even these panels are used in satellites to power its components with the light energy coming from the sun.
Advantages
- N-type solar panels uses new technology.
- It doesn’t affect by the oxygen present in air.
- It has better low light performance.
- It also performs best in high temperature.
- Long lasting and has better life span.
- Degradation of performance is low.
- Highly efficient.
Disadvantages
- N-type technology is still a new technology as compared to p-type which is well-established technology.
- It is expensive to adopt.
How to check if you are using N-type Solar Panel?
To check if a solar panel is N-type or P-type, you should follow few steps:
- Always purchase panels from authentic dealers with complete documentation.
- There is QR code sticker given at the back of every solar panel. The sticker will contain some information about the model name, capacity and QR code. Scan the QR code with the help of your mobile phone camera. It will re-direct you the company’s website where you would be able to see all the information and authenticity of the product.
- If company’s website won’t show up, try not to buy the product.
Which one you should choose?
Choosing the right type for you is sometimes tricky. If you are concerned about the life span and high efficiency consider N-type panels as it will fulfil your needs completely. If you are running out of budget and you want to keep it as low as possible then you can go with P-type option as it will best suit your needs. Must read the pros and cons of both types and decide wisely before purchasing.
Summary
In this article, we discussed the some main differences between P-type and N-type solar panels. P-type solar panels use boron as doping material where as N-type uses phosphorus as doping material. But, P-type doesn’t perform well in low light, has short life span and less efficient as compared to N-type.
