Talk:Solar panel/Archive 1

Archive 1

Portuguese article

I do not see any thing additive in pt. article- Oldboltonian 18:03, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

External links

• Directory of Photovoltaic Panel Manufacturers
• Directory of Photovoltaic Panel Installation Companies
• Directory of Photovoltaic Panel Production Equipment Manufacturers

Kit Temple 13:56, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

The Photovtaic Arrays mounts and tracking systems should match Sun movement, while the electrical parameters to match the array electrical connection so as to be compatable with Maximum power point tracking by Inveter. The Photovoltaic Array should be with Photovoltaic System for better integration. Karamchetti 19:19, 7 August 2008 (UTC)

Types of modules/panels

Some types of modules/panels/cells are not well described. Eg the Luminescent solar concentrator —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.245.189.98 (talk) 06:46, 23 April 2009 (UTC)

Info that's actually useful

Nice. A bunch of highly technical info that nobody understands except for the people who already know it, and they don't need a Wikipedia page to tell it to them. I came trying to find out the answer to the very basic question of what year the first solar panels came out in. I am now leaving disappointed. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 192.63.18.7 (talk) 09:06, 15 June 2009 (UTC)

Feel free to join and put in an effort and help to clean the article up and make it more lucid at any time.Casimirpo (talk) 18:23, 12 July 2009 (UTC)

PV solar panel applications

A short section should describe the applications of these solar panels. Also, aldough production of power for domestic use may be described, it should be noted that PV panels are mostly actually suitable for space exploration purposes. This, as these types of solar panels have actually been designed to transform higly concentrated solar power, which translates into efficiency losses when used in areas where there is less concentration of the solar rays (eg on earth, under the Earth's atmosphere). Luminescent solar concentrators are more suited to this task

Agreed that applications should be described -- feel free to add something. However, I would say that "mostlly actually suitable for space exploration purposes" is debatable at best. Literally 99.98% of the PV panels that were produced last year are being used here on Earth (and that's a conservative estimate) and would be unsuitable for use in space because of a lack of radiation hardness. By far the largest application for PV panels nowadays is grid-connected power generation. Sunlight is not actually that concentrated in space -- only about 1.3X that on Earth, provided you're in Earth's orbit, and it diminishes quickly the farther you go from the Sun. Luminescent concentrators have yet to make it out of the lab in any significant form, so to say they are more suited to the task is premature, IMO.--Squirmymcphee (talk) 19:42, 13 July 2009 (UTC)

Global warming is probably just a lie, to increase the military's lab funding, but if not it could increase the efficiency of PV panels But it is most likely a bunch of sh*t —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.40.100.103 (talk) 15:28, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Redirect to "Solar panel"

Should this be redirect to "Solar panel" not a "Photvoltaic module". Nobody knows what a photvoltaice module is. I never heard of that name. Everyone know solar panel. 207.225.106.64 (talk) 13:12, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

Requested move

The following discussion is an archived discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: page moved. Vegaswikian (talk) 22:19, 22 June 2010 (UTC)

---

Photovoltaic module → Solar panel — Should this be redirect to "Solar panel" not a "Photvoltaic module". Nobody knows what a photvoltaice module is. I never heard of that name. Everyone know solar panel. Trueshow111 (talk) 13:14, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

• Support- This move makes sense according to WP:COMMONNAME. Also, I think what happened is that "Solar panel" was merged into this article, but the current name was kept because this article had more information. --WikiDonn (talk) 22:11, 15 June 2010 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page. No further edits should be made to this section.

Testing Standards

This article contains a section about the standards for PV modules and I am trying to add an external link to a white paper about testing standards. I am not sure why my link has been removed because it is not an advertisement for the company that wrote it. It contains useful information and expanded details about the standards. Solar Panel Testing White Paper Makt25 (talk) 13:04, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Some people seem to have the weird idea that a link to an external website is a substitute for writing an encyclopedia article. If this was true, all we'd need to do is add (See:Google) for every article. Read the "white paper", summarize it and put the contribution in here. Marketing material on web sites doesn't usually stand up to much of this before it vanishes away...once you knock the foam out of the beer glass, there's nothing left. If the paper you're summarizing doesn't have any bibliography attached, it's probably not worth adding. --Wtshymanski (talk) 16:43, 9 July 2010 (UTC)

Solar reader

I suggest a link and an article to solar reader.--Hamiltha (talk) 05:22, 20 July 2010 (UTC)

Uses in space applications vs. recentism

The recent revert of the edit mentioning space applications was unwarranted. No one says every application has to be listed, but solar cells have been notably used in space for a long time, including today (what do you think powers the International Space Station?) This is a notable application that needs to be added, and doesn't have anything to do with "yachts and ships and aircraft and cars and garden sheds...". The article shouldn't be biased 100% toward "green energy" Earthbound uses. Try to maintain an historical perspective. JustinTime55 (talk) 21:42, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

I just discovered a wiki-link to space applications, buried in the last line of the intro. This keeps it from being recentist, but needs to be made a bit more prominent in the article, perhaps with a "See also" or Main template. JustinTime55 (talk) 22:18, 27 January 2011 (UTC)

Merge discussion

Propose merge

• I think this could fit as a section in Photovoltaics, as could Photovoltaic array. We should make Solar panel into a disambiguation page. Itsmejudith (talk) 17:25, 14 June 2008 (UTC)

• Just throwing out an idea here but what if both 'photovoltaic module' and 'photovoltaic array' were covered inside of 'photovoltaic system'. I'd have to read all these pages but this seems logical. I agree that solar panel needs a disambiguation page. Mrshaba (talk) 19:34, 14 June 2008 (UTC)
• There is some logic to your suggestion but I am not sure that "photovoltaic system" is sufficiently used that potential readers would think to look for information under that title.Itsmejudith (talk) 10:55, 17 June 2008 (UTC)
• BTW the Portuguese FA page seems to cover everything on PV. They do not seem to have another page on PV, just the one referenced and one on solar cell. Itsmejudith (talk) 10:57, 17 June 2008 (UTC)
• I agree that this page should be a section in Photovoltaics; it seems not to be a stand alone piece and I concur that "photovoltaic system" is not sufficiently used. Revr J (talk) 15:05, 4 July 2008 (UTC)
• I ended up having to read the photovoltaic system, module, and array pages to get a clear picture. I would suggest these be merged into one page. Cirmette (talk) 19:14, 24 February 2009 (UTC)

Oppose merge

• Solar power systems encompass a whole range of issues separate to the science and engineering of photovoltaics. Photovoltaic Systems, Photovoltaic Arrays, Photovoltaic Modules are an application of Photovoltaics. Something needs to be done about this and I think this discussion should be left open until several more people have an opportunity to comment. I would like to see a merger of these three topics and some clever redirection (and disambig) employed. Photovoltaics and Solar cell should also be merged but I would like to see them remain separate to the systems side of the issue. GG (talk) 09:32, 5 July 2008 (UTC)
• I like to see application-practice, being separate from theory sections.solarMD —Preceding comment was added at 05:10, 15 July 2008 (UTC)
• The article on photovoltaic modules is not that long, but the articles on solar cells and photovoltaics are both quite long. Sure there is a bit of overlap between them, but I think a merged article might be so long as to be unwieldy. I think it might be better to more tightly define what each article is meant to cover, clean the articles up, and provide cross-links where applicable.--Squirmymcphee (talk) 19:47, 29 July 2008 (UTC)

• Photovoltatics encompass a BROADER spectrum of scientific activity than just solar cells. A CCD is a photovoltaic device and allows the use of video cameras - but is not designed to make electricity as such. - SMarks —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.35.53.52 (talk) 16:55, 27 July 2008 (UTC)
• Both the pro-merge and the oppose arguments are mostly correct. However, given the present length and detail of the articles I oppose the merge at the present time. I also agree with 68.35.53.52 that Solar cell is mostly about physics and technology of the cells per se, whereas Photovoltaics has a broader scope such as production and business aspects. --Theosch (talk) 06:13, 6 August 2008 (UTC)

• Photovoltaics or PV is the best word for the field. But solar PV will be so big that it deserves many articles, and having only one would be totally unwieldy. So the question is how to organize solar PV articles, not how to merge them. Delbmarcs (talk) 15:34, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

• "Photovoltatics encompass a BROADER spectrum of scientific activity than just solar cells". I agree to this. There are also infrared cells. And cells are only a part of the modules, panels and installations.--Mac (talk) 12:36, 5 November 2008 (UTC)

• I think all of these technologies relate to each other, but each article about a specific technology should not be merged..--Photoguy439 (talk) 11:46, 14 March 2009 (UTC)

• I think photovoltaic modules deserve a separate page: there many types of modules, and many aspects of their usage (such as shading, performance, failure modes, etc) that will only clutter the more general pv system page.Xenonice (talk) 19:54, 9 May 2009 (UTC)

• Photovoltaic modules are the individual solar panels. Photovoltaic systems encompass everything from panel to inverter to breakers to disconnects and the whole shebang. They should NOT be merged. Systems should be expanded, or perhaps split into Grid Tied Photovoltaic Systems and Off Grid Photovoltaic Systems. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Blairstephens (talk • contribs) 14:19, 26 July 2009 (UTC)

• I agree with all the oppose merge comments above, including the previous comment by Blairstephens. It is well established in the industry that the term "module" refers to a single solar panel. More specifically, I think it is just a PV laminate with wires soldered onto the tabs, and enclosed inside of a protective housing. There is no voltage regulation, voltage conversion, or blocking diode. I can't imagine any practical system that includes just the module alone. In the simplest system, one could connect a small 12 volt PV module to a blocking diode and then to a large 12 volt battery. But even here, the term "system" includes everything, while the term "module" does not include the additional electronics, battery, battery charger, etc, that are needed on even the simplest practical system.
  Mikiemike (talk) 12:31, 11 December 2010 (UTC)

• Oppose merge, propose restructure: Because this topic is both popular and technical, I propose we structure it around a portal with two main areas, technology and applications, with careful cross linkage. The portal could provide navigational aides for the different audiences: consumer, installer, manufacturer, developer, etc. This would likely involve both merging and separating of material in the existing articles. Jojalozzo 18:43, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

Did you notice the dates in this discussion? It's not a live proposal any more. --Wtshymanski (talk) 22:52, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

That's a little embarrassing! I was following the links from Photovoltaic system. Jojalozzo 23:28, 5 March 2011 (UTC)

I of course have never been caught by this... not more than a dozen times, anyway. Sometimes it's worth adding to a stale discussion, but it's always a good idea to read the dates on a discussion first. Large talk pages get archived, which helps keep them current. --Wtshymanski (talk) 17:11, 6 March 2011 (UTC)

File:Solar Panel Rooftop Ballasted Footing.jpg Nominated for Deletion

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Solar panel manufacturing controversies

Solar panel manufacturing controversies has been proposed as a new article to include the just-removed topics on government financing and water pollution. For balance, articles such as this should be included:

• Vasilis M. Fthenakis and colleagues gathered air pollution emissions data from 13 solar cell manufacturers in Europe and the United States from 2004-2006 for four major commercial types: multicrystalline silicon, monocrystalline silicon, ribbon silicon, and thin-film cadmium telluride. They report that producing electricity from solar cells reduces air pollutants by about 90 percent in comparison to using conventional fossil fuel technologies.

"Easing Concerns About Pollution From Manufacture Of Solar Cells". ScienceDaily. February 26, 2008. Retrieved September 19, 2011. Emissions from Photovoltaic Life Cycles scheduled for the March 15, 2008 issue of the ACS' Environmental Science & Technology. doi./10.1021/es071763q {{cite news}}: Check |url= value (help); soft hyphen character in |url= at position 28 (help)

• A 2008 analysis finds that even accounting for all the energy and waste involved, PV power would cut air pollution—including the greenhouse gases that cause climate change—by nearly 90 percent if it replaced fossil fuels.

David Biello (February 21, 2008). "Dark Side of Solar Cells Brightens". Scientific American. Retrieved September 19, 2011. A life cycle analysis proves that solar cells are cleaner than conventional fossil fuel power generation

You pay your money and you take your choice. --Pawyilee (talk) 16:08, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Could you explain why that is a "controversy"? That seems like a clear benefit of solar power. Not sure that it belongs in this article, but before we figure out what to put it, some clarification would help. Qwyrxian (talk) 23:50, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

Frequency of use of various names

This query of books on Google shows the usage frequency of various names. Jojalozzo 01:05, 2 December 2011 (UTC)

Charles Greeley Abbot's solar panels

Hi everyone. I recently uploaded an images of Charles Greeley Abbot's solar panel on Commons. Just an FYi, it might make a cool addition regarding the history of solar panels:

• Commons:File:Charles_G._Abbot's_Solar_Panels.jpg

Sarah (talk) 19:06, 11 April 2012 (UTC)

Quantum dot solar panels

Quantum dot solar panels should be mentioned aswell as the difference in effiency (regular PV panels being 25% efficient, quantum dot PV panels being 44% efficient. Ref= Arjan Houtepen, TU Delft

BTW: the issue on that solar panels aren't restricted to PV is still not resolved, solar panel can also refer to:

• thermal solar systems (hot water collectors)
• Dye-sensitized_solar_cells
• Luminescent solar concentrators
• Concentrating solar power systems
• Photon Enhanced Thermionic Emission systems

91.182.205.137 (talk) 11:52, 12 April 2012 (UTC)

New section on PV module recycling?

--PALinBRU (talk) 15:48, 29 August 2012 (UTC)Hey! The article is missing some information about PV panel recycling. There is a growing general interest in the subject and I think visitors would find this useful but was afraid to edit the article directly as I have many years of experience working for the PV industry. Any suggestions? Thank you for your consideration.

Hi, I have drafted the paragraph on recycling using these two presentations found on Brookhaven National Laboratory’s website:

• "A Voluntary Take Back Scheme and Industrial Recycling of Photovoltaic Modules" (PDF). BNL. June 11, 2009. Retrieved August, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

• "Overview of First Solar's Module Collection and Recycling Program" (PDF). BNL. June 11, 2009. Retrieved August, 2012. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Both presentations contain private brands. Can I include these links as references for the paragraph?

--PALinBRU (talk) 14:22, 18 September 2012 (UTC)

Efficiency numbers are not matching linked sources.

Please note that the efficiency section states that "Single p-n junction crystalline silicon devices" are nearing 37.7% efficiency as is in-line with the Shockley Queisser limit but the Shockley Queisser limit page (linked below) states a maximum of 33.7% (which is the only reference of the claim).

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shockley%E2%80%93Queisser_limit

Either one of the numbers on one of the pages are wrong or the Shockley Queisser limit is incorrect, which I strongly doubt. The link in the Shockley Quesser page directs the user to the below linked source which says 30%. Since I don't know which number is right, I'll leave it to others to make the appropriate correction.

http://jap.aip.org/resource/1/japiau/v32/i3/p510_s1?isAuthorized=no

199.44.8.162 (talk) 15:21, 3 February 2012 (UTC)Gavin 2.3.2012

You should consider this reference and update the [3] reference on maximum efficiency. This IEEE article is a respected 3rd party and does not rely on self-promotion of individual company products. http://spectrum.ieee.org/green-tech/solar/the-solar-efficiency-gap — Preceding unsigned comment added by 128.62.117.127 (talk) 19:23, 4 March 2013 (UTC)

Solar Panel Photo

It would be very helpful if the article titled "Solar Panel" included atleast one photo with a caption underneath which read 'solar panel(s).' For example if the photo captioned "An installation of 24 solar modules in rural Mongolia" is one giant solar panel, then it could also say so. If the photo is a group of 6 panels or 24 panels then it would be helpful for the caption beneath the photo to specify how many solar panels it is.Gidiver (talk) 16:59, 19 April 2014 (UTC)

SolaRoad

Calling PV enthusiasts and interested eds, please expand SolaRoad! NewsAndEventsGuy (talk) 19:59, 24 February 2015 (UTC)

Merge Rooftop photovoltaic power station here

Rooftop photovoltaic power station contains much very similar text to this article and what little difference there is could easily be accommodated here. The title "Rooftop photovoltaic power station" is also misleading as much of the domestic and small commercial installations are not on roofs but may be in fields, against walls or other suitable locations.  Velella  ^{Velella Talk}   20:38, 29 April 2015 (UTC)

• Support I agree. I think the article on rooftop PV is not very well-defined and the information should better be included in the main text of this article. --Ita140188 (talk) 08:52, 30 April 2015 (UTC)

• Of course not. Why should the most common and important type of a photovoltaic system be merged into solar panel? Modules and systems are on two different levels. That doesn't make any sense. You could as well propose to merge solar cells and modules. Your statement about the article's title being misleading, doesn't make any sense either. With all due respect, you're confusing things: just because both, Rooftop PV system and solar module are currently incomplete and need a lot of work, doesn't mean they should be mingled up. Instead, I'd like to have a discussion about the content that needs to be added. For starters, solar panel needs an entire section about the components of a module. -- Rfassbind -talk 14:05, 2 May 2015 (UTC)

@Velella: I don't want to be a grumpy, impatient fellow editor, but maybe you should consider either the removal of the templates you added, or state your thoughts in a more detailed manner, as to why the merger of Rooftop PV system and solar module still make sense to you. Thank you, -- Rfassbind -talk 19:22, 10 May 2015 (UTC)

No. I am content to wait for a range of views from the wider Wikipedia community. I have set out my case, and you have set out yours. Now let others contribute.  Velella  ^{Velella Talk}   21:29, 10 May 2015 (UTC)

Would it be too much to ask, that off-topic editors first pose questions about the subject on the talk page, before adding hatnotes proposing mergers? To me, this is obvious. Maybe this section is worth a read? By the way, you telling me "to let others contribute"' is in a broader sense quite offending. If you have questions, please feel free to ask, otherwise there is nothing else for me to say. -- Cheers & I'm looking forward to useful contributions from you on the subject, Rfassbind -talk 12:36, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

• Oppose PV solar panels are a big topic, they can (and should) support many separate articles. Rooftop photovoltaic power station is a notable topic, but not the same thing as the small domestic installations with a few panels, nor even the huge installations as PV solar farms. We have space for all of these, as separate and distinct articles. Andy Dingley (talk) 15:30, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

• Oppose. Solar panel is an energy systems component & is the appropriate topic for development on its own merits. Rooftop photovoltaic power station is just one of the many manifestations of solar energy production which use solar panels. AshLin (talk) 16:41, 2 July 2015 (UTC)

I have removed the hatnote with the merger-proposal. I also started to revise the article. Your support and contributions are very much appreciated. -- Cheers, Rfassbind -talk 01:29, 7 July 2015 (UTC)

Removing Subjective Language

In the section of this article "Production" I saw this line:

"These silicon cells are not efficient enough in their current state and can only convert solar energy into usable power at a rate of roughly 10-20%"

By who's authority are we deeming solar cells to be "not efficient enough?" As someone with ongoing experience working in the industry, this is an obviously false statement. Solar panels bring vast amounts of power to the energy market using sub-20% efficient panels. This efficiency rating may sound low, but you have to realize that the 'fuel' is freely collected from the sunlight. By comparison, plants are only 3-6% efficient at collecting solar energy, but nobody would argue that "plants are not efficient enough in their current state." I would welcome discussion, but I do not think that subjective statements like this have a place on this article. — Preceding unsigned comment added by AscendingNode (talk • contribs) 16:02, 22 July 2016 (UTC)

Totally agree, this statement is quite ridiculous and need to be removed. --Ita140188 (talk) 03:27, 25 July 2016 (UTC)

Environmental Impact

I was surprised to see no information in this article about the environmental impact of manufacturing and destroying solar panels. Does anyone have any information they could add? There is mention of different certifications, I'll look into those as a start. Basho (talk) 16:23, 18 March 2008 (UTC)

IBM using waste from computer chip manufacturing in solar panel creation

Here's an example of using the waste from computer chip manufacturing in the manufacturing of solar panels: http://www.p2.org/p2week/2007Winners.cfm ( search for IBM-Burlingon , and yes, I work for IBM, but certainly don't speak for them ) Basho (talk) 13:55, 19 March 2008 (UTC)

exactly how are solar cells created i mean there has to be a way of manufacturing them whith common materials —Preceding unsigned comment added by 92.40.100.103 (talk) 15:16, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

I think that getting good information about the environmental impact would make adding a section a great idea CraigElder35 (talk) 06:11, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

Solar panel trees

Perhaps that the "trees" made by Solar Botanic Renewable Energy Systems can be mentioned here too ? It's intresting as the technique seems a bit different (it uses antenna's), and also: some people find regular PV-panels unesthetically pleasing, this avoids this, with perhaps the danger that they may be logged by people that don't see the difference. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.242.240.112 (talk) 13:43, 21 March 2011 (UTC)

Has that information been covered in reliable sources? We need some evidence that people outside of the company have looked at the technique, found it interesting, discussed it, etc. The company's website is insufficient to show that this is an important enough addition to the Solar panel topic. Qwyrxian (talk) 00:38, 22 March 2011 (UTC)

Some "solar-tree" articles:

• Celine Ruben-Salama (December 18, 2006). "Google's Solar Trees Due To Bloom This Spring". treehugger.com. Retrieved September 19, 2011. Yes, that's right, groves of pole-mounted solar panels, so-called "solar trees" are the newest addition to Google's ambitious solar project for their Mountain View, California, headquarters.

• Erin Ailworth, Globe staff (May 21, 2009). "Logan to grow `solar trees' on garage". boston.com. Retrieved September 19, 2011. The trees atop a revamped Terminal B garage at Logan International Airport won't be the typical leaf and bark variety. The Massachusetts Port Authority is instead installing "solar trees "-- panels mounted on air ventilation units that will harvest sunlight to help power the garage.

• Jon Starbuck (21 August 2011). "Solar-panel "trees" really are inferior (or: "In which hopelessly inept journalists reduce me to having to debunk a school science project")". eco-scams.com. Retrieved 19 September 2011. Just to be clear, this is not a scam! It is, however, a really good example of really sloppy journalism.

--Pawyilee (talk) 16:50, 19 September 2011 (UTC)

I do not know much about solar trees but from these articles given it may be a large enough topic to get its own Wikipedia page that could be cited in an applications section in this article. CraigElder35 (talk) 06:11, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

conclusion statement in "maintenance" section

the "Maintenance" section of this article started out with good facts about the reduction of energy produced by dirty solar panels but there seems to be a conclusion paragraph on why cleaning solar panels isn't cost effective and I don't think this is necessary. there is good information in this conclusion paragraph but I think that should be written without the conclusion of why not to clean solar panels. CraigElder35 (talk) 06:11, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

common terminology

reading the article the first time through was difficult because it didn't seem to explain some common solar panel terminology for someone who doesn't understand anything about them. CraigElder35 (talk) 06:11, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

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History

Sure would be super if we could get the history of solar panels ie. when they where invented, first applications, etc.--71.206.235.69 (talk) 05:17, 9 July 2008 (UTC)

I think it would be a good idea to add history section that through out the article could be referenced! CraigElder35 (talk) 06:11, 17 October 2017 (UTC)

I'm planning to put in a small history section up until they are commercially viable (with a link to the "timeline of solar cells" wikipedia article) --Jlevy.135 (talk) 22:20, 7 September 2018 (UTC)

Fully split and convert to disambig?

Would it be clearer here if we stripped the page at this title right back to a simple disambig, and placed the content separately for PV and thermal panels? Andy Dingley (talk) 12:48, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Yes, I think so. The term solar panel seems to be often used as synonym for both,

• Solar thermal collector and
• PV module

I've seen several edits in this article contradicting previous ones because of this unresolved ambiguity. All terms and variations containing "module" or "PV" such as solar module or PV panel should redirect to "PV module". I see two possibilities for the article to be changed. First, the article's content has to be moved to PV module (currently a redirect to solar panel), and then, either:

1. make solar panel a disambiguation page, and refer to the articles listed above, or
2. make solar panel a redirecting page to PV module, and add a hatnote in PV module about solar thermal collectors

Since I always avoided renaming/moving pages, maybe I'm being too cautious, but wouldn't your suggestion (i.e. option #1) result in hundreds of disambiguation links, or would it be handled by bots automatically? Also, there are two distinct articles, namely Solar thermal collector and Solar water heating. So should solar panel refer to both or only the latter? What do you think? -- Cheers, Rfassbind -talk 15:09, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Creating disambig links (and then having to disambiguate them) is fine, if they were already linking to a page that was equally unclear. If any of them already link to sections, then that can trigger a 'bot to fix them. Many of them (from a brief look) are actually solar panels (PV) on satellites, which should be a different target again. Andy Dingley (talk) 15:27, 11 May 2015 (UTC)

Although the term "solar panel" is unclear and disambiguous, I'm pretty convinced that in >95% of the cases it is used/understood to refer to photovoltaics (be it modules, the array or the entire PV system). I therefore suggest not to use a disambiguation page, but to use a hatnote for solar thermal collector instead. The lead section then thoroughly explains the terms module, panel, collector, as well as solar PV vs. solar thermal (similar to the distinction made in photovoltaic system > lead section > end of first paragraph). Does this rationale make sense to you? -- Cheers, Rfassbind -talk 14:38, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

Maybe that's the case in Germany today, but that's far from an international viewpoint. Andy Dingley (talk) 15:20, 2 June 2015 (UTC)

Care to explain? Why Germany? What is the international viewpoint then? -- Cheers, Rfassbind -talk 03:32, 4 June 2015 (UTC)

There is one interim change that could perhaps be made regardless of how the overall "Fully split and convert to disambig?" issue is to be resolved. In the lead section of this Solar panel article, the sentence that begins with "The most common ... " discusses solar water heating systems (which I think tend to work by circulating a fluid through collector panels) rather than discussing systems that use photovoltaic panels. This sentence might best be incorporated in the Solar thermal energy article instead of appearing in this Solar panel article. Omygoshogolly (talk) 04:42, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Similarly, the pictures of solar hot water panels might be moved to the "Solar thermal energy" article. Omygoshogolly (talk) 04:42, 28 November 2018 (UTC)

Efficiency section

Came across the research of Albert Heck. In a magazine, it was mentioned that "algae could be applied directly in the solar panels of the future". Was also mentioned "some companies are already using algae to increase the efficiency of solzr panels". Got me thinking: which are these companies and have they developed "algae filters", so something that can be placed directly on existing PV panels to increase their efficiency/power output ? So basically similar to Concentrator photovoltaics I guess. Genetics4good (talk) 09:33, 11 October 2019 (UTC)

It's not a panel in the current sense but an algae farm, in essence, - "store the sun’s energy in biomass via photosynthesis". See Photobioreactor. MartinezMD (talk) 19:09, 12 October 2019 (UTC)

No power in blackouts

User:MartinezMD. Thank you for pointing out the principle of undue weight – I was not familiar with it. The fact is that solar panels do not provide power to their structure. It’s not bad “power planning;” it is endemic to electricity, which, unlike natural gas or coal, can only be stored in batteries. Although battery technology has improved over the past decades, it’s still in its infancy.

So my options are to find and cite many more sources on the inability of panels to provide power directly to their structures, or rewrite the information with “Undue Weight” in mind. I opted for rewrite, considering the "Undue Weight" stricture. I hope this is in line with the rules. Evilleavenger (talk) 15:43, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

It most certainly is bad power planning. If the power were stored, such as in in batteries, there would be no issue with maintaining household operations. More panels would allow daytime running, but nighttime operation would still require a battery bank. This is a common design concern for people in RVs, sailboats, or who want to run a home off-grid capable.MartinezMD (talk) 16:07, 22 October 2019 (UTC)

Expected performance vs rated performance

I might add that I initially came to this page hoping to find out how many watts a typical solar panel puts out; not only was I unable to find an answer to that question; I am also now confused about what a solar panel actually is (typical or otherwise). It might be helpful if the experts, editors, contributors, authors, etc... consider this simple question: If I were to approach a 'Solar Panel Company,' and request them to ship me a solar panel (or solar panels); What would the manufacturer then package and ship to me as a consumer desiring to purchase a solar panel(s)? I pose this question because I suspect that many of the contributors/authors must be engineers, and therefore reluctant to embrace common terminology. I did come here to get more educated; but the apparent reluctance by authors to utilize/embrace common terminologies (or lay terminologies) has left me unexpectedly bewildered...Gidiver (talk) 19:01, 4 May 2014 (UTC)

Performance during the day follows a bell curve or half a sine wave and is a percentage of the actual rating. I get about 80% of the stated rated performance of a module on a warm full sun day. 80 watts from a 100 watt panel. In the winter there are fewer hours of sun and more cloud cover reducing performance. I added the variables for your information. There is probably a mathematical equation for your location for a given day of the year but it is too complicated to list here, so lets just say peak energy production is at solar noon for your longitude. CharlesMJames (talk) 03:49, 30 November 2019 (UTC)

Most common application of solar energy collection

I propose removing the statement in the lead that "The most common application of solar energy collection outside agriculture is solar water heating systems.[1]" This is very likely an outdated fact, and no longer true. At the very least, the reference is outdated. In the referred paper (which is from 2013) this claim is made, and it cites a report from the World Energy Council from 1994. Aasmusko (talk) 10:17, 1 December 2020 (UTC)

Requested move to "Solar cell panel"

Solar panel -> Solar cell panel. Reasons:

• exclude solar thermal panels
• commons Category:Solar_cell_panels

Taylor 49 (talk) 15:01, 23 September 2021 (UTC)

Done. Taylor 49 (talk) 17:11, 29 September 2021 (UTC)

Requested move 16 October 2021

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review after discussing it on the closer's talk page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

The result of the move request was: moved. Consensus to revert to Solar panel. (closed by non-admin page mover) Vpab15 (talk) 22:17, 24 October 2021 (UTC)

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Solar cell panel → Solar panel – "Solar panel" is the WP:COMMONNAME of the article's subject. The article was recently moved to its current location, although the discussion had very little input and did not appear to make policy-based reasons for the move. — Mikehawk10 (talk) 06:56, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

There was minimal discussion, and I concur with WP:COMMONNAME. MartinezMD (talk) 07:44, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

If by "minimal discussion", MartinezMD, you mean exactly none, then I agree. User:Taylor 49 moved the page more or less unilaterally 2 hours after they posted the RM here (where nobody responded), and without any notice on the article page. That's okay, as WP:RMUM allows for bold moves in uncontroversial cases. However, I, too, agree that the COMMONNAME is Solar panel, and should be the title for this article. Move back. — JohnFromPinckney (talk / edits) 23:09, 16 October 2021 (UTC)

Per WP:BRD, it should be revertible now, but I suppose waiting the 7 days would make it more proper and prevent an edit war. I will waitMartinezMD (talk) 01:46, 17 October 2021 (UTC)

Oppose, because the term "Solar panel" includes both solar electric panels and solar thermal panels AKA solar thermal collectors. The word "cell" is needed per WP:PRECISION. To claim that "solar panel" is more frequenlty used than "solar electric panel" is not sufficient. You would not want to rename "Asian cat" to "Cat" claiming that the word "cat" is more frequently used without the qualifier "Asian", would you? Taylor 49 (talk) 17:59, 18 October 2021 (UTC)

@JohnFromPinckney: The move is not uncontroversial. LSGH (talk) (contributions) 00:09, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

Strong support per WP:COMMONNAME. I'd go as far as to say that the article was previously moved without any consensus. Invinciblewalnut (talk) 02:16, 20 October 2021 (UTC)

• Support per nom. This is not the only misguided move that was made by the person who moved the page. Without bothering to get consensus, the person also moved the article about ANOM ninety minutes after proposing that move. Another person reverted the move because WP:COMMONNAME was clearly disregarded. LSGH (talk) (contributions) 00:09, 21 October 2021 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article is or was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Jlevy.135.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 09:45, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment

This article was the subject of a Wiki Education Foundation-supported course assignment, between 25 January 2021 and 16 May 2021. Further details are available on the course page. Student editor(s): Amanda WellsRCBC.

Above undated message substituted from Template:Dashboard.wikiedu.org assignment by PrimeBOT (talk) 09:45, 17 January 2022 (UTC)

Video

How can we collect more solar energy on a cloudy day?

Where in the article can this video be added? --PJ Geest (talk) 11:38, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Is there a reason that we should? MartinezMD (talk) 18:47, 5 June 2022 (UTC)

Why is there no mention of the perovskite solar cell?

The perovskite solar cell isn't fiction, nor are there any lack of scholarly articles on perovskite solar panel technology (Google it). While there are indeed some drawbacks, the far lower cost and flexibility are advantages which place the technology squarely in the mix of viable solar panel technology for the purposes of this Wikipedia article, which is about solar panels in general, not silicon-only solar panels.75.163.158.115 (talk) 22:54, 14 November 2021 (UTC)

Feel free to edit the article - citing should be easy if you use the "edit" link on a laptop or PC rather than a phone Chidgk1 (talk) 17:22, 15 September 2022 (UTC)

Merger proposal

The following discussion is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section. A summary of the conclusions reached follows.

The result of this discussion was to merge. Chidgk1 (talk) 06:13, 29 September 2022 (UTC)

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@Ita140188, Velella, Smilo Don, MaryGaulke, Old Man Consequences, Tarilaran, and BoldLuis: I propose merging Solar module quality assurance and Smart module and AC module into Solar panel. I think the content in those articles can easily be explained in the context of Solar inverter, and a merger would not cause any article-size or weighting problems in Solar panel. Chidgk1 (talk) 18:29, 16 September 2022 (UTC)

@Felida97,@PohranicniStraze, @Wtshymanski, @Kjerish, @Sauberstauber, @Nasir42, @KH-1 or anyone else. Any strong views on this? Chidgk1 (talk) 15:09, 27 September 2022 (UTC)

I am ok with merging Solar module quality assurance, which is weird as a stand-alone article. But the other two articles are well-defined topics and I don't see why they should not have an article, so I oppose the merger of Smart module and AC module. --Ita140188 (talk) 15:49, 27 September 2022 (UTC)

(Note: I don't have a particularly strong knowledge of the topic.) I think the merger of Solar module quality assurance is a very good idea. Given the current state of AC module, I could maybe see it being merged as well, but I would explicitly oppose the merger of solar module. Felida⁹⁷ (talk) 00:59, 28 September 2022 (UTC) Never mind, no strong views on this, go ahead. Felida⁹⁷ (talk) 11:45, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

@Chidgk1:, @Ita140188:, @Felida97: Without having looked into it I was thinking Ita140188 was correct but I actually agree with Chidgk1. The titles "smart module" and "ac module" are very generic and could be applied to other topics but in this instance the articles apply to specific I/O on solar panels. The merge would improve this article and also disambiguate (free-up) the other articles for other uses. – Kjerish (talk) 02:22, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

Very valid point regarding the vagueness of the article titles. Though, technically, if it was really only about the titles, one could also consider simply moving the articles to disambiguate. Felida⁹⁷ (talk) 11:45, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

@Felida97 I did nothing with "solar module" - it is already a redirect. Perhaps you meant Smart module? If so could you explain why you think it should not be merged. It is a very short article created in 2013 and not much expanded so I think it would fit in here fine - or perhaps you plan to expand it? Chidgk1 (talk) 07:11, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

You're right. I meant Smart module, which read to me like it could warrant its own article (or at least was not so short that I would call a merger a no-brainer), but now that I read it again (and after looking for further references), it's really just as short as AC module, when it comes down to content specifically about the topic. Felida⁹⁷ (talk) 11:45, 28 September 2022 (UTC)

The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.

Anti-Solar Panels?

Should anti-solar/darkness panels be talked about somewhere on this page, the solar panel page or it's own? 207.112.57.220 (talk) 14:08, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

They are a thing or just your imagination? Chidgk1 (talk) 17:18, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

It is most definitely a thing and worthy of considering for addition to the article or as an independent one. You could've done a simple search on Google... MartinezMD (talk) 20:03, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Ah OK sorry for dismissive comment - I had heard of them but not under that name so I thought you were joking - yes please go ahead and add a couple of sentences to this article. If they become more important a separate article can be split off later. Chidgk1 (talk) 20:23, 30 October 2022 (UTC)

Sorry but why would you want to add this information to this article? This article is specifically for photovoltaic panels, which have nothing to do with anti-solar panels (actually anti-solar is an awful name for that technology since they have nothing to do with solar either) --Ita140188 (talk) 10:52, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

@Ita140188 I think it will be too difficult for an IP user to create a new article. But perhaps you have a better suggestion where to put the info? Chidgk1 (talk) 11:11, 31 October 2022 (UTC)

These things clearly exist in development albeit it with very low output. Whether they are notable depends on finding sufficient reliable and independent sources which are not primary sources. There should be no problem with an IP writing a Draft: article and submitting it through the normal AFC process. Indeed, there should active encouragement for any IP to do so.  Velella  ^{Velella Talk}   12:01, 31 October 2022 (UTC)