While cost has been coming down, efficiency has been going up. Panels now convert about 20% of the sunlight’s energy to electricity. When I was a kid it was 3-5% and it was a long slow climb. Maybe it’s just me but when I learned it had reached 20% that struck me as a lot.
Though efficiency is not really a relevant metric when the source energy is free.
It has indirect impact such as the necessary area but efficiency is not a good indicator for solar overall.
But yay science!
While cost has been coming down, efficiency has been going up. Panels now convert about 20% of the sunlight’s energy to electricity. When I was a kid it was 3-5% and it was a long slow climb. Maybe it’s just me but when I learned it had reached 20% that struck me as a lot.
Though efficiency is not really a relevant metric when the source energy is free. It has indirect impact such as the necessary area but efficiency is not a good indicator for solar overall. But yay science!
What a bullshit take. Efficiency directly affects area and thereby all related overhead costs for cleaning, connecting, land use, production, etc.