Best Solar Panels Manufacturers in Australia

 

Best Solar Panel in Australia – Manufacturers

Based on company history, here is a short list of the most reliable and best quality panel manufacturers on the Australian market quality, service, real world performance and feedback from solar industry professionals.

To most regions with established solar industries this list is generally applicable including Asia and Europe however if we talk about Japan, Panasonic has a strong hold on the market, in North America, SunPower is at the top spot.

The mentioned list consists some of the top panel manufacturers.

LG

SunPower

Winaico

REC

Q Cells

For more details on the many innovations being used to improve panel efficiency, reliability, and performance, see the solar panel technology review.

LG

LG is renowned as one of the leading manufacturer’s in the world with a premium range of  reliability ,quality, high performance panels. One of a very few companies that offer 25  year product and similar duration of quality warranty on the Neon 2 and Neon R panels. All  which both use longer lasting N-type cells and high grades.

LG’s range of Quality Solar Panels are very popular around Australia, Europe and USA  as it uses many industry leading technologies.

One of the most popular high end panels available in Australia are the LG Neon 2 panels which use multi-wire busbars together with high performance N-type cells that makes it second to none in the market.

Efficiency (%):  19.3 – 21.6%

Power rating* (W):  320W – 370W

Price range: Med – High $$$$

SunPower

When it comes to high efficiency IBC solar cells Sunpower is a world leader as it offer a very high performance warranty of over 90 percent probably 92% retained capacity after 25 years,not just this it also comes with a 25 year manfacturer’s product warranty that makes it more reliable and worth trying.

 

They use the high performance IBC N-type cells The new Maxeon series panels which are the most efficient solar Photovoltaics – V cell technology available in the market today. Although, they are a bit expensive and thus are not widely used around Australia. Even though the more cost-effective P series panels from SunPower are now gaining popularity gradually for both larger scale commercial installations and residential Solar Installation. However In USA Sunpower panels are one of the most trusted brands available and very popular.

Efficiency (%):  19 – 22.6%

Power rating* (W):  340W – 400W

Price range: Med – Very High $$$$$

Winaico Solar Panels:

A relatively small volume manufacturer Winaico is offering a wide range of very high quality panels that are very reasonably priced. One of them is Winaico M6 PERC panels It comes with a 15 year manufacturers warranty, trusted by installers and are well regarded. It has a very good track record for long term  performance and reliability in the tough Australian conditions.

 

Winaico’s extremely strong frame design with unique corner inserts and attention to detail also put them ahead of the race from most other manufacturers. The new 340W panels which is going to be released in early 2019 with high grade mono PERC cells is also expected be one of the finest quality.

Efficiency (%):  18.8 – 19.4%

Power rating* (W):  310W – 340W

Price range: Med – High $$$

REC Solar:

REC has been proven to be very popular among installers as it manufacture cost effective, quality panels, in particular the TwinPeak range of panels.

It comes with a standard 20 year product warranty As of January 2019 all REC N-peak and  TwinPeak panels reduced it’s degradation rates that makes it one of the best warranties on the market.

 

The first to use half-cut cells in the split module format were the REC TwinPeak panels that provided higher efficiency and improved shade tolerance. The recently released N-Peak range of high efficiency panels utilising N-type half-cut cells position REC among the industry leaders in high performance modules.

Efficiency (%):  18 – 19.8%

Power rating* (W):  290W – 350W

Price range: Med – High $$$

 

Q Cells Photovoltaics:

Hanwha Q cells is a well known quality panel manufacturer that also offer a variety of quality panels for all types of homes and business applications. Backed by an above average 12 year product warranty The latest Q cells monocrystalline panels are  a good choice with an improved long term performance with 83% rated capacity after 25 years.

From entry level mono and poly crystalline to the the new Q.Peak Duo range Q cells have a very wide range of panels that uses half-cut cell with 6 bus-bars to achieve up to 19.8% and even 20% efficiency.

 

Efficiency of Q Cells (%):  16 – 19.8%

Power rating of Q Cells * (W):  270W – 330W

Price range of Q Cells :  Med $$$

 

Trina Solar Panels:

One of the worlds largest solar panel manufacturers Trina are investing heavily in new generation higher efficiency and lower cost solar panels that makes it one of the best in the business in Australia.Trina solar are considered great quality and very good value for money their well known Trina Honey range of panels are second to none, in particular the Honey M (monocrystalline) range of panels are also available now in the more efficient half-cut 120 cell format up to 340W.

It offer a diverse range of solar panels from efficient half-cut cell panels, cost effective poly crystalline panels and advanced bifacial panels.

Efficiency (%):  16 – 19.4%

Power rating* (W):  280W – 340W

Price range: Low – Med $$

Jinko Solar Panels

By volume JinkoSolar is the second largest Chinese solar panel manufacturer that produce a wide range of reliable, cost effective panels. Their engineers(Jinko workers) work closely with the Australian UNSW solar research center of excellence and together they are strong as they have achieved several efficiency records over the years with their continuous development and  research in new PV cell technology.

The Eagle PERC 60 (mono) and Eagle 60 (poly) range of panels from JinkoSolar are some of the most popular low cost solar panels(PV) on the market with a good support and track record from local offices.

Jinko Solar Panels Efficiency (%):  16 – 19.4%

Jinko’s Power rating* (W):  280W – 340W

Jinko Photovoltaics Price range: Low – Med $$

 

 

LONGi Solar

LONGi solar panels has seen a rapid growth over the last few years to not just becoming the largest Chinese solar panel manufacturer by volume, but one of the biggest panel manufacturer in the world today. LONGi solar panels company produce a wide range of variety of  reliable and cost effective panels which use the type Monocrystalline cells. In fact, their main focus is towards more efficient mono PERC and mono cells was due to the massive investment made in large scale mono wafer manufacturing by LONGi.

They use the common 120 split-cell format in Hi-MO3 and Hi-MO4 mono PERC range of panels in LONGi Solar and are becoming one of the highly popular low cost and high-efficiency panels on the market.

Efficiency of LONGi Solar in Australia (%):  18 – 19.6%

Power rating (W):  310W – 350W

Price range: Low – Med $$

Power rating (W) is listed for Residential (60 cell) panels only.

SunPower P19 series Solar Panels:

The SunPower P series panels became one of the popular choice for larger scale commercial solar installations in victoria due to the high performance and quality. The P series uses a shingled cell design which is a much more cost effective design unlike other SunPower panels that use’s higher grade, more expensive IBC cells. The shingled cells are partially less prone to micro-cracking and shade tolerant which can be an issue with panels using conventional  square full-size solar cells. SunPower p19 Solar panels still offers a 25 year manufacturer’s warranty despite being based on standard P-type silicon.

 

Jinko Eagle PERC Solar Panels:

The Jinko Solar Eagle PERC monocrystalline range from JinkoSolar are one of the most popular low cost panels available today on the Australian market that offer a good combination of affordability and quality. Developed closely with the UNSW in Australia the mono PERC cells  use the common (PERC) Passivated Emmiter Rear Contact technology that offers up to 18.33% efficiency and are warranted against degradation caused by PID effects.

 

Trina Honey M Plus Solar Panels 2019

The Trina Honey M Plust range of panels are one of the popular and favorite brand among installers for many years now. Trina Honey offer very good value for money and are of high quality from a large, good service and trusted manufacturer. Their recent products offer higher efficiency and performance over the standard Honey panels that uses monocrystalline (Mono PERC)* cells. See full Trina Solar review here.