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Solar panel efficiency is the ratio of electrical output from a module as compared to the total energy input derived from sunlight. The ratio is in percentage form and portrays the amount of energy expected from a panel when it is exposed to solar energy.

Basically, the modules that are currently in the market have efficiency levels of between 6% and a little over 20%. What that means is that the one that is marked 9% for example gives an output of 9 watts for every 100 watts that shines upon the unit.

It may seem obvious that the best choice is purchasing the modules which are more energy efficient but cost and other factors may be limiting. The cheaper ones may in fact make some economic sense when you consider the cost per watt of some of the more expensive choices.

It is difficult for the manufacturers to close the gap the reason being that the cost of manufacturing solar-grade cells is high. Crystalline silicone has a lot of photovoltaic potential and it is often used but since it is expensive some manufacturers cut thin slices of it to make thin-filmed modules regardless of the fact that it reduces efficiency.

A large sheet of this thin-filmed module can be used to increase the surface area that is exposed to sunlight and in this manner cancel out the energy conversion ratio problem. Unfortunately this might not be an option for those with little space on their roofs to spare. Those with limited space may opt to purchase the compact, more productive kits even if they are costly.

In other scenarios the headache is not space nor purchase price but functionality. In places where the sun shines down throughout the year one may make do with the cheaper versions but this may not suffice where it snows heavily. If an area is covered by power lines one might want to calculate the cost per watt if they chose to go solar so as to determine what is worth buying and after how long they are going to recover their cost.

In remote areas where there is no hope of getting connected to the power grid, Solar Energy becomes a necessity not a luxury. In such places it is not a bad idea to invest in high performance modules for the cost will be spread over decades and this will even negate the cost per watt making the decision worthwhile. This is now possible since the technology exists to push the lifespan of a module up to 30 years.

For the time being however the problem still persists of how to make cheap semiconductors that can be applied in solar technology with efficiencies of around 80%. Experiments are being conducted using nanotechnology which many believe will provide those answers. Other problem areas such as current conversion and transfer are also being handled using nanotechnology. Micro-inverters have been developed for example that convert DC to AC right at the panel.

Much is being done but a lot is needed from science to provide a way that will transform solar energy to a power source that can compete adequately with options such as nuclear. Innovations are coming up and scientists claim that it is possible to obtain cost parity in the near future.

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