Deerfield Solar Tour Site 7: CSF Bifacial Test Site
Installed Summer 2020 – two 3.7 kW arrays
Array powers the village garage
Installer: All Sky Energy
This is perhaps one of the most interesting stops on the tour. This site was set up to compare the side by side output of a monofacial array to an array using bifacial solar panels.
The inverters are mounted on the nearby garage. Be sure to take a look and see the output while you’re there.
With more than a year’s worth of data, we can state that the bifacial solar array consistently produces between 11 to 18% more power on average and at times up to 25 % more power.
To find out more about how this, and the other arrays in the Deerfield solar tour, create power in real time, visit the Deerfield Solar Dashboard.
Even though the panels are mounted horizontally, the bifacial solar panels (array on the right) still sheds snow faster than the same array using monofacial solar panels.
This is one of the main reasons CSF only uses bifacial solar panels in our grant programs and for our sales.
It’s interesting to note that while bifacials out-perform monofacials all year round, in the summer, the monofacial array does do better. The difference comes down to only an 11% increase of bifacial over monofacial. That’s because monofacial panels are made to accept light from the front of the panel, and in the summer the sun rises higher in the sky and pours its energy more directly onto the face of the array.
Tour Information
In-person tour: The ASES National Solar tour is always the first full weekend in October. Other tours may be available throughout the year.
Self-directed tour: Any time. Pick up map at Couillard Solar Foundation offices (Mon-Fri) or download below.