New 500+ Watt Solar Panel Technology Is Coming Here

Trina Solar’s 500+ watt solar panels

Trina Solar, a Chinese manufacturer of solar pv panels, recently leaned into producing high-powered bifacial solar module. Their two current lines of bifacial panels–the Tallmax and the Duomax–boast power outputs of above 400 watts. 

Building upon this existing technology, Trina Solar announced at the end of February 2020 that the company has iterated on these two current product lines with impressive results, reporting a 500-watt power output on both the newly launched Duomax V and the Tallmax V. Let us have a look at the high power solar pv panel.

1. 500W+ ultra-high power, 21% module efficiency.
   The Supreme series is based on 210mm large-size silicon wafers, PERC monocrystalline cells, and adopts an innovative design.
2. The power can exceed 500W and the efficiency can reach 21%, leading the industry to officially enter the new era of photovoltaic 5.0. The back of the Supreme module can increase the power generation by 5%-30%, and the excellent temperature coefficient and low radiation performance also increase the power generation.
3. Big and extraordinary, it is not just stacking power, but the efficiency of the components increases simultaneously, up to 21%.

1. Innovative technology master: three-slice, MBB
2. Trina Solar’s R&D team is based on the company’s superior multi-bus grid technology, and innovatively introduced the layout design of advanced technologies such as superimposed three-piece, non-destructive cutting, and high-density packaging to further reduce resistance loss and significantly improve component resistance to cracking
3. Anti-hot spot performance, maximize the use of space, so as to achieve high power generation module products with high efficiency, high power and high reliability.

How has panel wattage changed over time?

As recently as the first half of 2016, when we started tracking the wattages of individual panels quoted by our installer network; back then, a higher percentage of quotes included panels 300 watts or smaller than included panels 325 watts or larger. Today, most quotes on the Marketplace include either 320 or 330-watt panels, as seen in our ninth Intel Report.

So to move past 400-watt panels and to 500-watt panels is rather impressive: a 50 percent increase above the most commonly quoted residential solar module!

It’s worth noting two factors that help the panel achieve this power rating. First, these panels are designed primarily for larger-scale installations, which means that the panels themselves are physically bigger than typical residential panels. Second, these panels are bifacial, meaning they can collect sunlight from both the front and back of the panels, increasing overall electricity produced. Bifacial panels are less frequently installed in residential applications.

Will panels keep getting more powerful?

There are two primary ways to make solar modules more powerful: increase their efficiency or increase their physical size. The most efficient solar panels available to the residential market max out at about 23 percent. For a standard residential-size panel, that means topping out at 425 watts. For every half percentage point or so that a panel efficiency increases, the power rating increases by about 10 watts. Already, this level of efficiency would have been unthinkable in solar modules just five years ago; if residential panels were to increase in efficiency by another 5 percentage points to 28 percent, that would likely produce a 525-watt panel or so.

Alternatively, solar modules could continue to move from 60 cells to 72 cells and beyond, making larger and larger panels that physically occupy more space. While that would succeed in making higher power solar panels, it would also lead to system design or integration issues with larger and heavier modules.

What can you do with higher watt panels?

Higher wattage panels open up a lot of possibilities. If you are space-constrained on your roof, installing more efficient and powerful solar panels can help you come closer to offsetting your electricity usage with your solar installation.

For instance, a 20 panel installation of 300-watt solar modules–a 6 kilowatt (kW) system–may produce enough electricity to offset a $120 monthly electricity bill depending upon where in the country you live. A 20 panel installation of 400-watt panels, on the other hand, could potentially offset a $160 monthly electricity bill.

What’s more, if you anticipate purchasing an electric vehicle or switching to air source heat pumps for your heating and cooling needs, higher wattage panels allow you to even oversize your solar panel system to meet that future need.

Because higher watt solar panels is becoming the trend, the solar panel frame have to be longer than before and how to reduce the material cost is still a problem. We need to move on this issue.