Talk:Solar Panel/@comment-110.143.11.195-20150607001049/@comment-1713205-20150617202346

That is true, A solar panel, or module, is a series of interconnected silicon cells joined together to form a circuit. In greater numbers the amount of power produced by these interconnected cells can be increased and used as an electricity production system. The current standard offering in the market is a 60-cell panel, with larger 72-cell panels being used for larger-scale installations. Smaller panels are also available and used in the off-grid market, where space is at a premium or for layouts where more flexibility is required. The model in game seems to be 72-cell panel.

At cell structure level, different kinds of panels exist, such as monosilicon, polysilicon or thin-film. Monosilicon cells are manufactured from a single crystal. Their higher production costs leads to them being more expensive than other types. Monosilicon cells often have a higher efficiency rating than other technologies. However, as they are cut from cylindrical ingots, they do not completely cover a panel without substantial waste, lessening the efficiency of the overall panel.

Poly-silicon cells are made from melting different silicon crystals together. These are less expensive to produce than monocrystalline, but less efficient. Recent times have seen much more investment in polysilicon technology and the best polysilicon panels now demonstrate a performance equal to or close to mono. This, coupled with the lower costs, has led polysilicon to emerge as the premier material for solar panels.

Thin film solar cells are created through a co-evaporation process of chemicals on a glass sheet. They have lower conversion efficiencies than silicon, but reduce the amount of material required in creating the cell. This is something that is interesting for the game i think, so it can be wrapped on the base wall or be a part of the base module in the future.