Solar Panel Efficiency: 13.1% Electric, 86.9% Thermal

[xharville]

Would it be safe to say that the energy not converted to electricity by a photovolatic panel is lost as thermal energy. Therefore if a solar panel has a 13.1 % efficiency at converting photons into electric energy then 86.9% is loss as thermal energy.

 

[Andrew Mason]

Would it be safe to say that the energy not converted to electricity by a photovolatic panel is lost as thermal energy. Therefore if a solar panel has a 13.1 % efficiency at converting photons into electric energy then 86.9% is loss as thermal energy.

It is not exactly lost because it was never captured by the solar panel cells. The efficiency of a solar panel would be the ratio of electrical energy output to the solar energy incident on the panel. The solar energy not converted to electrical energy would be absorbed by the panel material as heat, or reflected as heat or light.

AM