The advantages of half-cut technology mainly come from the halving of the internal current of the panel. This results in many benefits, like better performance, benefits under shading and better durability:
1. Lower resistive losses
In a solar panel, resistive power losses occur when electrical current transports through the cell interconnections. By cutting solar cells in half, the current is halved. The reduction current leads to lower resistive losses. This improvement in performance can increase the output of a panel by up to 2.5% over what it would be with full-size cells, which could be a good 9~10W per panel.
2. Higher shade tolerance
Half-cut solar panels are more resistant to the effects of partial shade on the panel. Instead of having 3-panel cell-strings in traditional solar panels, 6 strings are used to connect the cells in a half-cut solar panel. When there is a partial shade on a panel, caused by say leaves, branches or even bird poop, the shaded area will only affect a sixth of the total panel power output, instead of one-third of the output.
3. Better durability
Half-cut solar panels have multiple benefits in extending panel durability. Firstly, smaller cells reduce the stress on cell interconnection expansion and contraction as the panel heats and cools each day. And as smaller cells flex less, there is a decreased opportunity for cracking. Also, half-cut panels reduce the hot spot temperature, thus lower the risk of damaging the panel.
Curious what “available in both 6BB and 9BB” means,
Regards,
Jim
Hi Jim,
The “BB” mentioned referring to solar cell “busbar”, and is used for conducting the direct current generated by the solar PV cell.
The number of busbars in a solar cell does affect the performance of the solar panels in a various way. To have 6BB and 9BB available provide you with options to better fits in your need.