Poly-crystalline solar panels are also made from silicon. However, instead of using a single crystal of silicon, manufacturers melt many fragments of silicon together to form the wafers for the panel.
Poly-crystalline solar panels are also referred to as “multi-crystalline,” or many-crystal silicon.
Because there are many crystals in each cell, there is to less freedom for the electrons to move.
As a result, poly-crystalline solar panels have lower efficiency ratings than mono-crystalline panels.