Black solar panels are the modern, more efficient technology. Blue panels are less advanced, and less efficient at turning sunlight into electricity.
It’s like when Astroturf changed from sand into those tiny bits of rubber.
Nowadays, installers generally offer black panels. You’ll only really get blue panels if you buy a house with them already on the roof.
What are polycrystalline and monocrystalline panels?
Black panels are monocrystalline. Blue panels are polycrystalline. They are the two main types of solar panel you’ll find. They’re made in slightly different ways.
Solar panels are made from silicon. Silicon is produced in ‘ingots’. They pour molten silicon into a container, and it hardens. It’s then sliced across like a salami. Those slices become ‘wafers’ which are laid flat on a panel.
In the case of monocrystalline panels, this ingot is one big crystal, and it’s in a cylinder shape. Here the wafers have rounded edges. In polycrystalline ingots, it’s lots of interlocking crystals in a big block. This is then sawn up into cuboids, and then rectangular wafers.
I appreciate this is quite an abstract concept. This is the best video I’ve seen explaining how panels are manufactured – I can recommend this if you’re interested in the finer details (stick with it: he’s great):
Which are better: black or blue solar panels?
Black panels are better. They are more efficient at generating electricity. That means for every panel on your roof, you’ll produce more power.
Black panels are roughly 20% efficient. Whereas blue panels are 15% efficient.
You might read in some places that blue panels are cheaper. That may be true, but it’s slightly misleading. The reality is that solar panels are only really offered in black/monocrystalline nowadays.
There are, however, big differences between brands. The efficiency of black panels can vary, and they also come in different power ratings. Sunpower are well known for making some of the most efficient panels on the market, with their latest Maxeon panels achieving over 24%.
