At the onset of California's solar rebate program, the California Energy Commission wanted to level the playing field for solar panel manufacturers, so they hired an independent testing laboratory called PVUSA to test and rate every solar panel that was to participate in the State's rebate program.

For example a solar panel that had a manufacturer provided STC (Standard Test Condition) or labeled rating of 100 Watts would have their panel tested by PVUSA and might be given a PTC rating or PVUSA rating of 88.7 Watts. It wasn't that the manufacturers were being dishonest it's just that PVUSA uses different parameters that they feel represent more real world conditions.

So the higher the PTC rating, the more power you'll get from a solar panel.

Here's a comparison of the Mitsubishi PV-MF120EC3 120 Watt solar panel PTC rating to the PTC rating of several other manufacturer's 120 Watt solar panel as listed on the California Energy Commission's website.

A higher PTC rating means better real world performance !

And Mitsubishi uses no lead in the construction of their solar panels !

*Sharp Corporationâ

ND-60RU1

60W Multi-crystalline Silicon Module

52.7  X 2 = 105.4

Two times 52.7 equals 105.4 for a 120 watt set.

*SunWize Technologies, LLCâ

SW 120

120W Monocrystalline PV Module

105

NA

 

Now lets take a closer look at the Mitsubishi PV-MF120EC3 versus the Sunwize SW120

	Mitsubishi PV-MF120EC3	Sunwizeâ SW120
Rated Voltage Vmp	17.6 Volts	16.7 Volts
Open Circuit Voltage	22 Volts	21 Volts
PTC Rating	107.6 Watts	105 Watts
Negative Tolerance	-5%	Unknown
Amount of lead used	0 Grams	Unknown
Country of origin	Japan	India
Max system voltage	780 Volts	Unknown

*The above mentioned company names are the property of and/or the registered trademarks of their respective owners. With exception to Mitsubishi Electric, Solar Home, Inc. does not have any affiliation with any of these companies.

** PTC stands for "PVUSA Test Conditions." PTC watt rating is based on 1000 Watt/m² solar irrandiance, 20 degree Celsius ambient temperature, and 1 meter/second wind speed. The PTC watt rating is lower than the "Standard Test Conditions" (STC), a watt-rating used by manufacturers.

 Visit the State's website and compare Mitsubishi's performance for yourself !                 

http://www.consumerenergycenter.org/cgi-bin/eligible_pvmodules.cgi

The difference in PTC rated wattage may not seem like much, but add up the difference over 365 days per year for the next 25 years and the difference is obvious !

 

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