Yeah I don't understand people getting hung up on efficiency with solar panels. The sun is always up there producing the exact same amount of energy with zero input from us. We're not doing any work to get the input energy for the panels.
Efficiency would only matter if we'd already covered all the available area with panels and needed to start replacing existing ones, otherwise $/watt hour is the only metric that's important.
until only a few years ago solar panels were enormously more expensive per square meter and per peak watt, so doing things to increase their efficiency was a great way to reduce $/watt hour
Efficiency would only matter if we'd already covered all the available area with panels and needed to start replacing existing ones, otherwise $/watt hour is the only metric that's important.