The problem with solar efficiency ratings | Video 1 of 3

It's all about energy. If you own or operate a solar asset, energy is what you're buying and selling. But what if you're basing your solar module decisions on incomplete information and overlooking some crucial insights into the energy those modules produce? If you're relying primarily on efficiency ratings, you may be missing out on solar technologies that could deliver a better return on your investment. What many people don't realize is that a high efficiency rating doesn't always result in the most energy or the best return on investment. Why? For some very important reasons. First, you need to understand that efficiency ratings are captured in a controlled indoor environment called standard test conditions or STC. Standard test conditions are used to establish efficiency ratings that help customers compare solar modules and technologies from different manufacturers. The problem with efficiency ratings is that solar modules installed in the field spend almost no time in the ideal environment of STC. There can be a tremendous difference between the way your modules perform under STC versus the real world. And that difference can have a major impact on your ROI. You should also be aware that efficiency ratings simply don't account for the energy loss factors that all solar modules encounter in the field. far from the laboratory conditions of STC. In the real world, there are several loss factors such as heat, humidity, shading, and more that can negatively affect a solar module's actual performance. And there can be huge disparities in how various module technologies perform over time. So, what's the most comprehensive, most reliable way to evaluate solar module performance? It's a metric called specific energy yield. This critical metric accounts for the output power of a solar module through a full range of real world conditions, including loss factors and technology differences, key elements that aren't even factored into efficiency ratings. So, don't stop at efficiency ratings when comparing solar modules. Be sure to take a good look at specific energy yield to get the complete picture of all the factors that can impact your investment and the energy it will produce. The next video will cover a few of the loss factors that can have a huge impact on the energy generation of your solar module investment because it's all about energy.