The 6 different types of solar panels

When you’re considering whether to get solar panels, it’s a good idea to look into all the different types, to ensure you choose the best system for your home.

In this guide, we’ll run through all the main types of solar panels, their advantages and disadvantages, and which panels make the most sense for different purposes.

We’ll also take a look at new and developing solar panel technology, and explain which type of panel is the best overall.

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What are the main types of solar panels?

The six main types of solar panels are polycrystalline, monocrystalline, thin-film, transparent, solar tiles, and perovskite.

1. Polycrystalline solar panels

• 13-16% efficiency
• Lifespan of 25-30 years

Polycrystalline solar panels are one of the oldest types of solar panel in existence, with cells that are made by melting multiple silicon crystals and combining them in a square mould.

These blue panels are less efficient, less aesthetically pleasing, and less long-lasting than black monocrystalline panels.

And though they’re technically cheaper, this comes with a large drawback: they take up far more space, because they’re significantly less efficient.

Since 1984, the record efficiency of polycrystalline cells has increased from 15% to 23.3%.

This is a decent level, but it’s way behind monocrystalline, which hit 24% all the way back in 1994, according to the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

Since panels always lag behind cells in efficiency terms, the average polycrystalline panel today is even less impressive, at just 14.5%. This makes it 31% worse than the average monocrystalline panel, which is 21% efficient.

To achieve a certain level of output, you'll therefore need a higher number of polycrystalline panels than you would monocrystalline panels.

When considering the lifetime cost of solar panels, it’s almost always better to cover your roof with as many panels as you can, to generate the most electricity possible – and polycrystalline panels won’t get the best out of your roof space.

Pros and cons of polycrystalline solar panels

2. Monocrystalline solar panels

• 18-24% efficiency
• Lifespan of 25-40 years

Monocrystalline solar panels are the most efficient type of solar panel currently on the market.

The top monocrystalline panels now all come with 22% efficiency or higher, and manufacturers are continually raising this bar.

These sleek, black panels are made from single-crystal silicon – hence their name and dark appearance – and treated with anti-reflective coating that removes their grey undertones, making them look even darker.

They also have a longer lifespan than any other type, on average, often outlasting their already lengthy performance warranties, which can stretch to 30 years.

Monocrystalline is currently the most cutting-edge solar material, too – bifacial solar panels are usually made with monocrystalline, for instance.

We have Polish scientist Jan Czochralski to thank for the creation of monocrystalline panels.

In 1916, the 31-year-old absent-mindedly dipped his pen into a crucible of molten tin instead of his inkwell, hurriedly took it out – and withdrew a narrow thread of metal at the same time. This was the eureka moment that enabled monocrystalline silicon production.

The Czochralski method, which was modelled on this accident, was crucial in Bell Labs researcher Russell Ohl’s development of the first monocrystalline cell 25 years later, in 1941 – and that’s not all.

This method is still used in the great majority of electronic goods around the world, from mobile phones and televisions to washing machines and fridges.

Pros and cons of monocrystalline solar panels

3. Thin-film solar panels

• 7-13% efficiency
• Lifespan of 10-20 years

Thin-film solar panels are flexible sheets that can wrap around objects, making them perfect for properties with a limited amount of unobstructed roof space, or mobile homes like recreation vehicles and houseboats.

They’re thousands of times thinner than the average monocrystalline panel, which gives them their malleable nature.

Manufacturers create them by stacking several layers of solar material, like amorphous silicon, cadmium telluride, and copper indium gallium selenide. 

The creation of thin-film panels was kick-started by NASA in 1961, when the Photovoltaic Fundamentals Section at its Ohio research centre started developing the technology.

They’ve since been used in space, with their flexibility and resilience proving an advantage over other types of panels when it comes to extraterrestrial uses.

ARCO Solar released the first commercial thin-film solar panel, the G-4000, in 1986, and they’ve been on the market ever since.

Unfortunately, thin-film’s efficiency is poor compared to other domestic panels. Depending on which combination of materials they use, the end product’s efficiency rating can be anywhere from 7% to 13%.

This is substantially lower than most other types of solar panels, though this fact is usually reflected in their relatively low prices.

However, since demand isn’t particularly high for thin-film panels, the amount you pay will mostly come down to who your local supplier is.

Pros and cons of thin-film solar panels

4. Transparent solar panels

• 1-10% efficiency
• Lifespan of 25-35 years

If they reach their final form, transparent solar panels will be fully see-through sheets of solar material, mostly made of glass, that replace windows, roofs, and phone screens all over the world.

Right now, they’re behind other models in the industry.

These potentially ground-breaking creations are currently 30-40% transparent and severely lacking on the efficiency front, where they’re typically around five times worse than monocrystalline panels.

In 2014, a team of researchers at Michigan State University created 100% transparent cells, but with an efficiency of just 1%. 

In the years since, the industry hasn’t managed to turn this breakthrough into a commercially viable 100% transparent panel with a higher efficiency rating.

Unless their efficiency rises dramatically, they won’t be suitable for domestic properties – but they have their uses. 

A handful of locations around the UK have used them, such as Gloucestershire County's Council Hall, Bournemouth University, and the Barbican Theatre in London.

They’re better used on large buildings like these, including office blocks and skyscrapers, where they can make enormous energy savings compared to the hundreds of windows they replace.

Pros and cons of transparent solar panels

5. Solar tiles

• 10-20% efficiency
• Lifespan of 25-30 years

Solar tiles produce electricity in the same way as monocrystalline or polycrystalline panels, but they’re built to replace all your roof tiles.

For people who are worried that panels will look unsightly on their roof, or who are struggling to get planning permission in a listed building or conservation area, solar tiles might be a solution – but they come at a price.

The process of replacing every tile with a solar one is typically around 50% more expensive than a monocrystalline solar panel system, roughly 30% less efficient, and takes about three times longer.

They should last 25-30 years, which is decent, but since they were only introduced to the UK market in the decade or two, there are no guarantees.

Solar roof tiles first became commercially available in the US in 2005, but progress since then has been slow, and they haven’t proved popular in the UK.

The product has been beset by false starts. American multinational company Dow unveiled its solar tile to great fanfare in 2009, leading Time Magazine to call it “one of the 50 best inventions” of the year.

But Dow scrapped its solar tile product line in 2016, and its most famous successor, Tesla’s Solar Roof, still isn’t available in the UK. That’s despite Elon Musk announcing in spring 2019 that it’d be launching in summer 2019.

To learn more, check out our full guide to solar roof tiles.

Pros and cons of solar tiles

• Up to 27% efficiency
• Lifespan of 25-35 years

These panels are at the forefront of solar innovation.

They’re made with perovskite, a synthetic material based on the crystal structure of a mineral that’s (confusingly) also called perovskite.

A layer of this material is placed on a layer of silicon to create a ‘tandem’ panel – the advantage being that silicon can absorb light from the red part of the spectrum, and perovskite can absorb light from the blue end.

The perovskite mineral was first discovered by German scientist Gustav Rose in 1839, in Russia’s Ural Mountains. He named it after Lev Perovski, a fellow mineralogist who was serving as a minister under Russian Emperor Nicholas I.

Researchers have attempted to use its structure for electronic purposes since the 1950s, but it was only successfully incorporated into a solar cell in 2009, when University of Tokyo scientists made a perovskite cell with 3.8% efficiency.

Since then, progress has been rapid. In June 2024, researchers at Chinese solar company LONGi created a perovskite-silicon cell with a record-breaking 34.6% efficiency.

Also in June 2024, the UK’s Oxford PV broke the record for an entire panel with a model that has a 26.9% efficiency rating.

These panels aren’t currently commercially available though, and if they do arrive on the market, they’ll likely be very expensive.

To learn more, check out our full guide to perovskite solar panels.

Pros and cons of perovskite solar panels

What’s the best type of solar panel for you?

The best type of solar panel for the majority of households is monocrystalline, as they’re the most efficient, long-lasting, and cost-effective panel available right now.

However, if you live in a listed building or conservation area and can’t get planning permission for on-roof panels, solar tiles may be the answer – but they’re much more expensive.

If you’re looking to put solar panels on a mobile home instead of a house, you’ll probably want to go with thin-film panels, which suit the less flat and sturdy roofs of caravans, houseboats, and recreational vehicles.

Future solar panels

Scientists around the world are constantly researching and developing technology that could potentially revolutionise the solar industry.

There are countless ways in which solar panels could be altered to improve their efficiency levels, lifespan, peak power ratings – and researchers are investigating all of them.

This enthusiasm for solar technology is down to its skyrocketing popularity. In the UK alone, the number of households with solar panels has increased by around 5,000% since 2010.

These innovations are the three most notable creations worth focusing on at the moment.

1. Quantum dot solar cells

Quantum dots are tiny balls made from semiconducting nanocrystals that could replace all the relatively bulkier semiconducting material that goes into modern solar panels.

They’re also known as artificial atoms because of their size, which is just a few nanometres – or roughly 338 million times smaller than the average Brit.

These nanoscopic dots absorb much more of the light the sun sends – including ultraviolet light – which could massively expand a solar panel’s efficiency, all the way up to 66%.

As a result, they could be the driving force behind considerably lighter, more effective solar technology at some point in the future. Currently, the efficiency record of a quantum dot solar cell is 18.1% – so there’s a way to go.

2. Zombie solar cells

Zombie solar cells came from the realisation that a burgeoning solar technology called dye-sensitised solar cells can continue functioning after their assumed death – and even better than they did before.

Normally, these cells use a dye compound that absorbs light and sends electrons to be gathered by a liquid electrolyte and turned into electric current.

But when scientists replaced the liquid electrolyte with a dry version, it produced more electricity, to the extent that zombie cells have reached 30-34% efficiency.

Smart zombie solar cells are also in development, which can absorb indoor light and turn it into electricity.

3. Organic photovoltaics

Organic solar cells generate electricity in the same way as standard panels, but they use organic semiconductors instead of silicon.

Panels using this organic material, which usually consists of carbon-based polymers, have reached 19.3% efficiency so far, but are still near the start of their development process.

Using organic semiconductors would make panels lighter, more flexible, able to absorb a larger part of the electromagnetic light spectrum, and more sustainable.

Solar panel types: FAQs