With three models of 500 watt solar panels officially unveiled, here is what this means for project development and the future of the entire solar energy industry.

Image: Vincent Shaw, Photovoltaic Magazine

Two solar module manufacturers, Risen Energy and Trina Solar, have launched the first 500W, 50-cell photovoltaic module in their class.

The Risen module accomplishes this feat using 50 half-cut single crystal PERC batteries, each individual battery measuring 210 mm. Tianhe panels use 210mm silicon wafers. The difference between the two companies is that Tianhe uses three-cutting. This results in a 500W module, which is slightly larger than the 72-cell design with 156.75mm wafers.

How will the emergence of 500-watt solar modules change the solar industry?

Barry Cinnamon, CEO of Cinnamon Energy Systems, told Photovoltaic Magazine: “For you have many applications, especially commercial and utility-scale applications, this is really important.” “You can use fewer modules, which reduces Processing costs, and the overall balance cost of the system will drop."

If fewer modules are needed to meet the project’s capacity specifications, it means that as these modules become economically viable, overall project costs will drop. An important area of ​​cost reduction will come from shelves and trackers.

"This will reduce the cost of racks and trackers per watt," said Matt Kessler, technical director of OMCO Solar, a manufacturer of racks and fixed tilt tracking in Arizona. "This will reduce the cost of labor per watt installed. It will also provide a premium for racks and trackers designed for ergonomics. As these things become larger, they will become heavier and heavier, It is getting wider and wider. If there are functions in the tracker and rack to help place the modules, it will have greater value."

The consensus of the installers interviewed by Photovoltaic Magazine is that the average module inspection power installed is 380W. This means that the Trina and Risen panels provide approximately 31% more power than the normally installed panels. According to Cinnamon, 10 years ago, the average module output was about 250W.

Despite the simplicity of the calculations, these panels still have a long way to go before they become industry standards, let alone benchmarks for average installation.

Cinnamon said: “It takes about five years for the entire industry to replace all assembly equipment with new sizes.” “Buying new equipment requires a lot of work because it usually cannot be reprogrammed... We are talking about three to five years of replacement. All these devices."

"The most common industry will be C&I," said Jock Patterson of inverter company Fronius USA. "I saw these on rooftops with limited space. They want more efficient modules. Large suppliers will feel the pressure to provide 1,500 volt inverters. Those who do not provide these services will feel that they missed the more Big roof project."

This change will not be industry-wide. With the commercialization of these modules, the residential solar market will hardly be directly affected—because 72-section modules are always too large to be practical for home installations where roof space is limited, work spaces are angled, and workers must be able to carry them. Climb the ladder alone. Anything that exceeds the standard 1 meter x 1.6 meter 60-cell battery module is too much trouble.

The residential installers interviewed by Photovoltaic Magazine hope that the technology used to increase these modules to 500W will eventually apply to their 60-unit brothers. In turn, this means that residential installations will be able to provide more power while occupying less roof area, ultimately reducing system balance costs.

Risen claims that 600Wp output can be easily achieved with a 60-cell battery panel, but the size will make the panel too large to be handled by one person.

Edit: This article was edited on March 9, 20 to reflect that the module is 50 cores instead of 72 cores as originally reported. We apologize for the mistake.

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More articles by Tim Sylvia

The photovoltaic module in the photo does not seem to have 72 cells, but 100 cells in a 5 x 20 layout. In addition, according to the National Electrical Code, when we all know that the 1500V system cannot be placed on the roof, the comments about the 1500V inverter and the roof are misleading. In addition, the increase in efficiency does not seem to lead to an increase in power, but an increase in batteries.

Same as above-this guy is on top

Came here to say the same thing. This is a very misleading article. This is not a 72-cell battery module, but a 100-cell half-cell large-size battery (maybe 144 tallest batteries?), a multi-bus module. If these are like the rest of the tallmax product line, then they may be double-sided to get these big numbers. In terms of efficiency, these are still only in their 20s. This is great, but for all these people who commented about installing twice as much solar energy in the same area, this is not what happened here...though this article convinces you. In the final analysis, this is a module that compresses most modern technologies and "techniques" into one huge module. In the C&I project, I believe it can save about 3% of the cost because of fewer modules (less fixtures, less wiring, etc.), but not because of some magical high efficiency. As you mentioned, 1500V is not allowed in buildings in the United States. What I know is 80"x40" @ 60lbs. I am not in a hurry to drag these things or do engineering work.

Hi, Mr. Silvia, my name is Mihai Iancu. I read your article. I will ask for your advice on what photovoltaic panels I should buy for a studio. It should include 2 AC, 1 TV, 1 refrigerator. Thank you and good luck!

More solar panel output means less footprint. This is extremely precious to some people. Not all systems are roof-mounted. Most houses in cities do not have such a large roof area.

The most relevant figures for residential roof layout are conversion efficiency and power per unit area.

Is it possible to achieve 1 x 1.6 m 500w? Isn't that about 30% efficiency?

In the United States, according to NEC 690.7 "The maximum voltage of the DC circuit of the photovoltaic system on or in a building shall not exceed 1000 volts", the maximum voltage of the US commercial roof is limited to 1000 volts. Only ground installation can use 1500V.

I want to know what impact this will have on the re-supply market. Assuming transmission capacity exists, the production of solar panels built 10 years ago may double or more. I haven't seen residential solar installers, but I think at least some of them have installed ladder lifting systems now. One of my neighbors replaced his roof two years ago, and the staff used a roof to install shingles.

If there is a 600W, 60-cell battery board, I will be very happy. Even 500W would be great.

The 32-square-foot commercial module is not the best module for roof-mounted systems. An 18-square-foot module or the above-mentioned 1 mx 1.6 m panel is more suitable.

"Risen claims that the output of 600Wp can be easily achieved using a 60-cell battery panel."

With it, I have about 1,800 square feet of roof space on the garage, which can be filled by a smaller footprint panel. Having 50kWp is an important system available. Those “daydreams” that charge electric vehicles and have enough power generation for off-grid operation of large energy storage systems may become a reality.

There are 40 @250w panels on my roof. If they launch $600 or even $500, I will seriously consider starting to replace them because I have the funds. I would love to double my output.

These are larger panels for solar farms, so it's like tearing off the 4 x 8 plywood roof sheath to place larger 6 x 12 panels.

The power per unit area may be a little higher than your existing system, and it may not be worth upgrading because the benefits are small. Wait 25 years, or wait for a hailstorm.

800W is under 1000w/m2 test conditions, 77 degrees directly overhead at 120 w/m2 or less and 58 degrees inclination and 32 degrees or less. During the northern State 8winter, the 18-panel solar roof cannot operate microwave ovens, ovens, refrigerators and water heaters. , Not to mention heating your house and charging your electric car.

That's a $40,000 solar and battery wall, and you will never see sitting in the dark again, freezing around an illegal wood stove all winter. More high-tech grit.

What are the physical dimensions of these 500-watt panels? If today's 500-w panel is 3 times the physical size of yesterday's 250-w panel, then the efficiency loss of the new panel will not help. It is important to compare on the basis of watts per square foot.

Considering Wal-Mart’s awakening after the fire, 500W output and 1000 volt throughput will increase the risk of fire caused by overheating, and how much does the risk of DC arc and electric shock increase?

Our 500-watt solar photovoltaic products are plug-and-play, so there are no cables or inverters in the home because the 13-amp plug is also outside.

Send us your email for more information

I want to use a cheap but large enough school bus to provide enough electricity for my home, someone can help me tell me how to get the equipment wisely and how to connect them all

There is nothing new here. It doesn't matter how many batteries there are, because the new batteries they use are larger (approximately 200 mm x 200 mm), so this is a comparison of apples and oranges. Manufacturing larger panels that generate more power does not meet the requirements of new technologies. I bet that the efficiency is still at most 20%.

It's great to see viable options for real competition for electricity retailers. The next breakthrough we need is cheap energy storage, and then there will be real competition for cheaper electricity.

The number of 3 of them on the south side of my roof will exceed the monthly number required by me or any of my homeowners. Now is the time for the door-to-door salesperson to arrive. Not many people use more than 1 kW/month per month. I can keep the air conditioner on all day, use utility options at night, and have no storage batteries. Let it be so.

It’s just that I want to know if the cost of solar panel field measurement is 3 or 6 kilowatt grid/off grid for 30 x 40 feet on the roof. Please quote for price supply, installation and maintenance unit

About Joseph c Bangalore' 560073 Karnataka India

I developed a 1 GW panel. Now we only need to reduce the size of a square mile a bit for transportation purposes. It is recommended to use aircraft warning lights according to the installation angle.

Want to know if Trina 500 Watt can be used for home installation in New York City

Hello, Jose. Modules of this magnitude are generally not recommended for residential installations. Their size can make it cumbersome and dangerous for workers to install them on the roof.

Yes Jose, available in New York

Hi, I am looking for the pricing of two 500 watt solar panels...I live in BC. Canada...😊🇨🇦

I am curious what the wind/snow load specifications of these larger modules are. This is an important issue of Montana's climate.

Since our 500w solar products are disk-shaped and can be hung on the wall instead of on the roof, there will be no problems in snowing. Send us your email for more information

Well, in summer, the sun is actually a bit northerly, so I'm not sure how useful a south-facing "wall-mounted" solar module will be!

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