Eco Green Energy released the article – Standard 5BB vs Half-cut cells 9BB: The advantage of new 9BB PV module, which indicated 9BB half-cut cells can increase the efficiency and output of the PV module. Here, we listed 3 main ways to show how half-cut cells improve panel performance.
1. Reduce resistive losses
One source of power loss when solar cells convert sunlight into electricity is resistive losses, or power lost during electrical current transport.
Solar cells transport current using the thin metal ribbons that cross their surface and connect them to neighboring wires and cells and moving current through these ribbons leads to some energy lost.
(Sources: energysage)
By cutting solar cells in half, the current generated from each cell is halved, and lower current flowing leads to lower resistive losses as electricity moves throughout cells and wires in a solar panel. Thus, to reduce the power loss of panels to make them perform better.
2. Higher shade tolerance
Half-cut cells are more resistant to the effects of shade than traditional solar cells. This is not due to the cells being cut in half, but rather a result of the wiring methods used to connect half-cut cells in a panel.
For full-cell standard solar panels, the cells are wiring together in rows. We call it series wiring. In series wiring schemes, if one cell in a row is shaded and not producing energy, the entire row of cells will stop producing power.
(Sources: solarquotes)
For example, a regular solar panel has 3 cell-strings, each of which can be bypassed with a bypass-diode. One shaded cell will shut down one-third of the panel.
On the other hand, half-cut cells are also the same wiring series. Yet, because half-cut cell panels have doubled the number of cells (120 instead of 60). Thus, the separate rows of cells also doubled.
(Sources: solarquotes)
This type of wiring allows panels built with half-cut cells to lose less power when a single cell is shaded. The reason is a single shaded cell can only eliminate a sixth of the total panel power output.
The reason is a half-cut solar panel has 6 separate cell-strings (but only 3 bypass diodes), offering better partial-shade tolerance. If half of the panel is shaded, the other half can still operate.
3. Hot spots Not so hot
When one solar cell in a panel cell string is shaded, all the preceding unshaded cells can dump the energy they produce into the first shaded cell as heat. This creates a hot spot that can potentially damage the solar panel if it lasts for a long time.
Twice as many panel cell strings mean only half as much heat. But, as the shaded cell only has half the area to radiate heat as a normal cell, the decreased total amount of heat produced should be less damaging to the panel. As a result, there is likely to be an improvement in resistance to hot spot damage.
Eco Green Energy Helios Series modules all using half-cut cells. And, now we are processing our new PV module generation – ATLAS, which using 182mm half-cut cells. In addition, the maximum output power will reach 550W.
If you want to know more about Eco Green Energy PV modules, please do not hesitate to visit our product center.
