Single Glass Vs Double Glass Solar Panels: An In-Depth Comparison

Before buying solar panels, there comes a confusion of single glass vs double glass solar panels. It is very attention required question which determines the life span and efficiency of your whole solar panel system. So before buying solar panels, first you have to consider the right solar panel that fits exactly according to your needs and areas.

Single Glass and Double Glass solar panels both have their own pros and cons. So before choosing between them, consider some things that are provided in this article to make the right decision for your purchase. See latest prices of single glass and double glass solar panels.

Single glass solar panels, also known as monofacial solar panels, are the startup of steps in renewable solar energy. They are called single glass because the solar cells are packed behind the single glass technology. The reason they are called monofacial is that ‘mono’ means single or one and ‘facial’ means face. So monofacial means a solar panel with single face or single glass.

Though, they have single glass or single face, so they produce electricity from only one side which is the front side. This is also the reason they are called monofacial. These solar panels are simply structured by merging solar cells into an encapsulant material and covering them by glass for their protection. The back side of these solar panels is covered with some white polymer sheet.

Single glass solar panels are protected by a aluminium frame that protects the panels from minor accidents during shipping and installation.

Single glass solar panels have these following advantages:

Single glass solar panels are affordable and cheaper than double glass solar panels, therefore they are available in the market easily and more in quantity than double glass panels. They also require less materials and time to be manufactured which also causes a production of wide range of single glass panels.

Single glass panels have proved themselves to be the cheaper solar panels with great and reliable performance over time. These are best option for those who prefer efficiency and have considerable budget.

Single glass solar panels are the best and great option for people who have pocket friendly budget. A man with low budget can avail these panels and get rid of electricity bills with a very minimal initial cost.

Single glass panels have very light weight and are easy to handle and lift to high buildings and roofs. Because of their light weight, they are easy to install and reduce the risk of accidents.

Single glass solar panels also have some drawbacks:

These solar panels use single glass for their protection which can be harmed by severe and bad weather conditions leading to the decrease in efficiency and performance of solar panels.

Single glass panels have an aluminium frame around them which loses its beauty when exposed to bad weather for a long time. Hence, single glass panels don’t have a better look to give your house an attractive look.

Double glass solar panels are named double glass panels because they have glass on both sides which produces a little more electricity and gives more efficiency than single glass panels. The reason of this increased efficiency is because of addition of glass in the back as a replacement of polymer sheet in case of single glass solar panels.

These solar panels are designed with the latest technology. They are also called Bifacial solar panels because ‘bi’ means two and facial means ‘face’ which collectively becomes ‘solar panels with two faces’.

The working principle of double glass panels slightly varies from single glass solar panels. Since double glass solar panels have glass on both sides, so when the sunlight falls on the front glass, the solar panel produces electricity. But when the sunlight reflects, it also reaches the glass on the back side which also produces not more but causes a little addition in the efficiency of solar panel by 10-25% depending on the reflectivity of sunlight.

It is very important to consider the right way to set and structure double glass solar panels. To gain more efficiency from these panels, it is important to make them elevated from the ground so that more sunlight enters the back side and increases efficiency.

So whenever you are setting double glass solar panels, make sure they are installed up from the ground to improve performance and provide a clear path for the sunlight.

Before buying double glass solar panels, it is important to know about the right areas where they can be used according to their usability. Double glass solar panels work very affectively if we install them over water because water is a dielectric material. At normal incidence it reflects about 4% or less of the incident light.

These panels can be very affective at hilly areas or areas which often remain covered with snow. But still they are also usable and very efficient in almost all areas. We can also increase reflection of sunlight by installing a reflecting sheet on the ground below solar panels which is not a bad idea at all.

Double glass solar panels have the following advantages over single glass panels:

Double glass solar panels have double glass which provides the solar panel with great defense power against severe weather conditions. They are resistant to high energy UV rays of sunlight and moisture which ensure their long-term durability and performance.

The capturing of sunlight from both sides significantly results in higher efficiency of solar panels. So these solar panels offer more efficiency than monofacial solar panels which generate electricity from one front side only. Bifacial solar panels have the ability to increase their efficiency up to 10-25% than monofacial panels.

These panels have low temperature coefficient which means they can bear severe weather conditions such as hot sunny day. This ability makes them to perform better in areas where temperature touches its peak maintaining their life-span and longevity.

Since these panels have double glass and have the ability to capture light from both sides, this helps them in utilizing scattered light from their surroundings improving performance in cloudy and overcast conditions.

Double glass solar panels also have some drawbacks with them:

Double glass solar panels require more initial cost depending upon their installation and other expenses as they are more expensive than single glass panels.

These solar panels are not more selling because they are not very pocket-friendly and require more materials and time to manufacture and also less available in the market.

Double glass panels are heavy weight and their installation is a little bit difficult. They require strong mounting system for their installation to protect them from blowing away in storm and bad conditions and also require more care to handle.

The choice of choosing the right option between single glass and double glass solar panel will be according to your needs requirements. If you are concerned about your budget and want to buy solar panels, then single glass panels are the best option for you. But if you are looking only for performance and efficiency and much worried about your budget, then double glass panels are waiting for you.

The choosing part between single and double glass solar panels is confusing and should be taken very serious because solar panels cannot be bought everyday. So we have written this detailed article for you to get some help and make a wise decision of choosing solar panels. We wish you enjoy the installation of solar panels on your rooftop. If we had missed anything in this article which could be helpful, let us know in comments. We have written a detailed article on N-type and P-type Solar Panels which might be helpful to you.