© Unsplash/Vivint Solar
Placed on the ground or on a roof, a panel solar uses sunlight to produce either electrical energy or heating energy. Depending on the desired energy, there are several types of solar panels that offer different advantages and disadvantages. It can be difficult to find your way around even if the technology is increasingly popular, so here we go over all the things to know about solar panels, obviously concluding on their price.
There are three types of solar panels : thermal, photovoltaic and aerovoltaic panels. In the first case, it transforms solar energy into heat, and in the second into electricity. Aerovoltaics, on the other hand, act as a hybrid, combining thermal and photovoltaic functions. Let's go into detail.
A solar thermal panel consists of a glass surface which captures the heat from the sun in order to transmit it to a heat transfer fluid. Among the various types of thermal solar panels, two stand out among the most widespread: panels with glazed flat collectors (black metal plate covered with glazing) and evacuated tubular collectors (glazed tubes equipped with a black metal plate that absorbs heat).
© Vivint Solar/Unsplash
The solar thermal panel is mainly used to provide heat to a house, but mainly relies on exposure to the sun.
Their installation is quite simple, but still requires a few prerequisites: it is thus recommended to benefit from a minimum inclination of 45° for the collectors (your roof must therefore benefit from this inclination). In addition, you obviously need to have sufficient space to be able to install them. Finally, professional labor is required to install a solar thermal panel.
The photovoltaic solar panel transforms sunlight into electrical energy. It consists of photovoltaic cells that have one or more layers of semiconductor material (silicon), which creates an electrical flow when sunlight hits the panel. This flow then produces an electric current as it moves, which can be used in your home.
While this method is used by all photovoltaic solar panels, there are still several types. monocrystalline panels are, as their name suggests, composed of a single silicon crystal, offering the best overall efficiency. They therefore produce more electricity for an equal surface area than other types of panels, but their price is therefore higher.
Sunology Play Max © Sunology
There are also polycrystalline panels< /strong> (several silicon crystals), which are most common on residential roofs, even if their efficiency is lower. This is the preferred solution when you have a large possible installation surface on your roof, because it costs less.
Finally, Amorphous panels are less common than the first two, but are easier to manufacture and cost less. They are composed of a thin layer of silicon, which also makes them less efficient than their competitors.
This type of panel is certainly the most efficient and pleasant to have at home, but it is also the most expensive. Its operation is simple: it is made up of photovoltaic cells to which a ventilation system has been coupled. In doing so, it exploits the hot air released by the cells, thus producing electricity, heating, but also hot water.
Since this is a particularly practical hybrid solution and the technology is still fairly recent, these panels are less used because they are much more expensive.
200% Deposit Bonus up to €3,000 180% First Deposit Bonus up to $20,000Aerovoltaic solar panels have the most strengths: they offer the possibility of both produce electricity, but also heating (or hot water). They also limit the loss of photovoltaic production when temperatures are higher. Finally, they can offer a good ventilation system to cool a home in the summer.
© Unsplash/Vivint Solar
Thermal solar panels cannot be used alone, since they generate on average 60% of a home's heating energy. This is why it is usually coupled with another energy source. However, it is a good way to produce heating with green energy, all without CO2 emissions, and by saving money on the price of energy in the long term.
The main advantage of the photovoltaic solar panel is that it produces green electricity from renewable energy: solar does not emit CO2. On the other hand, although its installation price is quite high, it also allows you to make significant savings on the price of electricity in the long term. Finally, it is a first step towards the energy independence of a house.
Photovoltaic and thermal solar panels suffer from the same disadvantages. They both require a significant financial investment. The latter will subsequently be profitable in the long term compared to the usual prices of electricity or gas, but it is the main obstacle for many households.
Moreover, these panels are particularly bulky, and require a sufficient exposure surface to be effective. Not all roofs of all houses will therefore be compatible, especially as they will need to be able to face south. And obviously, the energy production of solar panels mainly depends on the weather. It is still possible to transform energy into electricity on a cloudy day, but production is obviously higher when the weather is nice.
© Pixabay/ulleo
Aerovoltaics is overall more complete in its functions, but nevertheless suffers from some unknowns. First, its longevity is still difficult to estimate since it is a very recent technology. Furthermore, heating production has many limits in winter. Finally, the home that an aerovoltaic solar panel powers must be perfectly insulated in order to offer the best possible performance.
The price of installing a solar panel will vary depending on its type. For example, the average cost of a solar photovoltaic installation ranges from €7,000 to €22,000, and little aid is currently available to finance it. It is certainly possible to benefit from a reduced VAT rate for aerovoltaics and photovoltaics, but this aid is not very significant. The self-consumption premium can nevertheless provide interesting assistance, subject to conditions.
Beem On © Beem Energy
For a complete installation of thermal solar panels, you will need to budget between 900 and 1700€ per m², obviously depending on the surface area to be covered. Note that labor accounts for approximately 20% of the bill for each installation.
Finally, for an aerovoltaic installation, the cost will vary depending on your surface area, but also on the power of the system. Thus, for 10 m², count between €15,000 and €20,000 for 3kWC, between €25,000 and €30,000 for 6 kWp and between €35,000 and €40,000 for 9 kWp. It is therefore by far the most expensive technology of this type on the market today, but these costs are also explained by the fact that it is the most recent.
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