Solar panels up to 625 Watt-peak
Four hundred watt-peak in a single solar panel; when our leading brand SunPower first hit the market with that, it was quite exciting. In fact, SunPower had managed to cram 104 of their highly efficient Maxeon 3 solar cells together in one panel, creating a solar panel with peak power that stayed ahead of all the competition.
A few years later they went even further with the SunPower MAX-3 430 panels with a peak power of no less than 430 Wp.
Expelled from first place?
But higher and higher powers are coming up: We see solar panels coming out with outputs of 500 and even 600 Wp in a single panel! So have the SunPower MAX3 solar panels finally been overtaken by the competition?
Not quite: high-power panels are usually just a bit larger than average, which simply means that more solar cells can fit on them. The SunPower MAX3-400 panels are just over 1 meter wide, and about 1 meter 70 long, while the 410 watt-peak panels from JA-Solar, for example, are more than 2 meters long, and the 500 watt-peak panels from Trina Solar are even 2 meters 17. Although those new panels have quite impressive capacities, their efficiency is still lower than SunPower's.
What role do efficiency and degradation play?
The efficiency of a solar panel expresses how much of the incoming light can be converted into electricity. An “average” solar panel these days has an efficiency of up to 18%, while better performing panels can be around 20%. SunPower, however, remains champion with its 22.6% for its MAX3-400 solar panels.
The larger panels with their higher outputs are often less suitable for placement on the roof of a residential home due to their size. Those who want to get as much power as possible from a limited roof area are better off with slightly smaller, but more efficient solar panels, than with those big rags. Consequently, the larger panels are more often used for large-scale solar farms in the open field, or on expansive roofs of commercial buildings.
SunPower solar panels still manage to pack the highest power into the smallest area
Of course, power is not just about what you get at purchase, but also about how long the solar panel is able to maintain that power: in other words, how quickly does such a panel degrade? In this respect, it is funny to see that, based on the power warranty, a JA-Solar 410 Wp panel will only deliver 378.7 Wp after ten years, while a SunPower 400 Wp panel will still be above 383 Wp after ten years; and that this difference will only increase in the following years!
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Efficiency
The efficiency of a solar panel expresses how much of the incoming light can be converted into electricity. An “average” solar panel these days has an efficiency of up to 18%, while better performing panels can be around 20%. SunPower, however, remains champion with its 22.6% for its MAX3-400 solar panels.
The larger panels with their higher outputs are often less suitable for placement on the roof of a residential home due to their size. Those who want to get as much power as possible from a limited roof area are better off with slightly smaller, but more efficient solar panels, than with those big rags. Consequently, the larger panels are more often used for large-scale solar farms in the open field, or on expansive roofs of commercial buildings.
SunPower solar panels still manage to pack the highest power into the smallest area
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Degradation
Of course, power is not just about what you get at purchase, but also about how long the solar panel is able to maintain that power: in other words, how quickly does such a panel degrade? In this respect, it is funny to see that, based on the power warranty, a JA-Solar 410 Wp panel will only deliver 378.7 Wp after ten years, while a SunPower 400 Wp panel will still be above 383 Wp after ten years; and that this difference will only increase in the following years!
Who's the boss?
Incidentally, SunPower is not content with the fact that its competitors are now putting such high outputs into solar panels: parent company Maxeon is already providing SunPower solar panels with outputs of up to 445 Wp and an efficiency of more than 24%! Just another way of letting everyone know who's boss when it comes to powerful panels.
Since the new panels are all not suitable for residential buildings, for the average homeowner the SunPower MAX3-400 still remains the top seller on the market. But should interesting competitors present themselves with an even higher efficiency, we will certainly let you know!
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