Honda Soltec Residential CIGS Modules Reach 11.6 Percent Efficiency
Source/Type: News - Staff reports

Author: CompoundSemi News Staff

August 9, 2010... Honda Soltec Co., Ltd., Honda's wholly-owned solar cell subsidiary added to its lineup of home-use solar cell modules. The company began sales of two new residential-use solar cell modules with maximum output of 130W and 120W respectively. It also began selling a power conditioner with rated output of 5.5kW.

The company says it has advanced its solar cell production technology to improve the quality of the electricity-generating layer. As a result, the company boasts that its new copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS)-based residential-use solar cell module with maximum output of 130W achieves solar energy conversion efficiency of 11.6 percent. According to Honda Soltec, this is the highest among the CIGS-based solar cells being sold in Japan.

The company began production and sales of solar cell modules for residential use in 2007 and for public/industrial use in 2008. Before the new additions, Honda Soltec's product lineup included two types of residential-use solar cell modules with maximum output of 125W and 115W respectively - and one type of power conditioner with a rated output of 4.0kW. The company says it will continue sales of these products along with the new products introduced today. So far the residential use solar modules have not caught on. They have been installed in 2,250 homes through builders and contractors.

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