Why a single, defect-free silicon crystal converts more sunlight into electricity than a cast block of many smaller crystals — and why that gap doesn't automatically make one panel the "right" choice.
Both panel types start with the same raw material — purified silicon — and both convert sunlight to electricity through the same photovoltaic effect. The difference is entirely in how the silicon is solidified before it's sliced into wafers. One method grows a single continuous crystal. The other casts molten silicon into a mold and lets it cool into thousands of individual crystals fused together. That manufacturing choice is the entire root cause of the efficiency, cost, and appearance differences between "mono" and "poly" panels.