As the saying goes, the only constant is change and that is true for solar pv technology.A recent breakthrough in solar panel technology could soon see Irish homeowners getting much more bang for their buck when it comes to solar panels.
A UK company called Oxford PV has recently delivered the first commercial perovskite tandem solar panels to a solar farm in the US. A first for Solar PV.
Why Perovskite Panels Are Exciting News
Perovskite solar panels are made up of a combination of traditional silicon cells with a new material called perovskite. This combination makes your solar panels much more efficient, about 20% more efficient. By efficient we mean , they convert more of the sunlight to electricity than traditional solar panels. The initial commercial panels achieve around 24.5% efficiency. Currently the figure for todays panels is about 18%. Oxford tell us that efficiency can reach 27% and higher in the future.
Benefits for Irish Homes
More Energy, Less Space: With significantly higher efficiencies, perovskite panels allow homeowners to generate more electricity from less panels. This means less space required. This could be significant in Irish towns and cities, where roof space can be limited.
Reduced Costs: Increased efficiency means you need fewer panels to meet your household energy needs, this should lead to a reduction to the cost of solar panels in Ireland.
Supporting Ireland’s Renewable Goals: Ireland as part of the EU has signed up to some pretty challenging targets relating to Net Zero. Technologies like perovskite solar panels can help us achieve these goals and accelerate our transition to clean, sustainable energy.
Is Perovskite Technology Available in Ireland Yet? No it is not. Commercial installations of perovskite panels are currently starting at large solar farms in the US, residential availability isn’t far behind. Oxford PV is actively ramping up production, indicating that consumer-friendly panels could become available within a few years.
