Which Brand Solar Panels are Best

[Azel]

Looking at the different solar panels that were under $1.10 Price/per/Watt. But, that are too many brands and I don’t know the quality of each brand. Here they are:

Schott Solar (USA made)
Hyundai (Unknown maker)
Canadian Solar (China made)
EcoSolargy (China made)
SolarWorld (USA made)
Solar Power Industries (USA made)

Do you recognize any good brands or poor brands?

Thanks
Azel

[Sunking]

Names you know and trust that have been around fro decades like Kyocera, Sanyo, Sharp, and LG because you know they will be around tommorow.

Schott are OK but the problem with most of the solar manufactures is they only make solar panels, and most are in deep trouble and their future is uncertain and shaky at best. Hyundai is new but a very large Korean company that make automobiles. Srick with the big name that I mentioned because they will be around to honor warranty replacements and future expansions.

[russ]

You don't recognize those names? That means you have not been watching solar or world business at all.

Looking at the different solar panels that were under $1.10 Price/per/Watt. But, that are too many brands and I don’t know the quality of each brand. Here they are:

Schott Solar (USA made)
Hyundai (Unknown maker)
Canadian Solar (China made)
EcoSolargy (China made)
SolarWorld (USA made)
Solar Power Industries (USA made)

Do you recognize any good brands or poor brands?

Thanks
Azel

[Naptown]

Looking at the different solar panels that were under $1.10 Price/per/Watt. But, that are too many brands and I don’t know the quality of each brand. Here they are:

Schott Solar (USA made) German Company manufacturers in USA good quality
Hyundai (Unknown maker) Fairly new to the business but judging from past history should do well
Canadian Solar (China made) Very good quality chinese module They however just got hit with a tariff so prices have spiked
EcoSolargy (China made) Never heard of them
SolarWorld (USA made) Very good quality but not to be had for under $1.10 a watt on a retail basis for A grade panels
Solar Power Industries (USA made) Cells are made here but assembled into panels in China by Canadian Solar I believe

Do you recognize any good brands or poor brands?

Thanks
Azel

My comments in Red

[Rdjntx]

We used silken panels which I think worked out to be about 1.33/watt. I did a search and they were rated top of their class by one of the industry mags, can't remember which one.

[KRenn]

Names you know and trust that have been around fro decades like Kyocera, Sanyo, Sharp, and LG because you know they will be around tommorow.

Schott are OK but the problem with most of the solar manufactures is they only make solar panels, and most are in deep trouble and their future is uncertain and shaky at best. Hyundai is new but a very large Korean company that make automobiles. Srick with the big name that I mentioned because they will be around to honor warranty replacements and future expansions.

Schott is far from being just a solar panel manufacturer, they've got one of the longest dedicated solar manufacturing histories(50 years) but also have their hands in about a dozen other things that they could survive on.

[Naptown]

We used silken panels which I think worked out to be about 1.33/watt. I did a search and they were rated top of their class by one of the industry mags, can't remember which one.

I use a lot o Siliken modules and have been very happy so far.
The Magazine is Photon and they do side by side testing of modules.

[Rdjntx]

I use a lot o Siliken modules and have been very happy so far.
The Magazine is Photon and they do side by side testing of modules.

Yeah Siliken 250 watt was what we used. and Photon Magazine was the one I saw the reviews for. The only thing that disappointed me a bit was that they have moved their manufacturing plant to Mexico rather than keep in in the U.S. I took some pictures of mine on the truck and some as they were installed on the roof. they really look good and I was a little surprised at how little there are to them LOL

[aar21]

Which is the best Solar Panel Brand ?

Hello, I'm planning to do 3000 watts solar panels in my house but I'm confused which brand to choose from. which of these brands are the best - Hyundai. Kyocera , Aleo Solar ,Bosch,UpSolar,moser baer solar, Samsung solar , S-Energy, Future solar, lg, mage solar, mitsubishi , Canadian solar, Nesl ,Pramac, Masdar , Conergy , SHARP , Trina , Schott . Yingli , Powercom , SunPower,BAUER, AXITEC , Q CELLS , Sainty , Neo , Steca . Please help .

[Naptown]

Hello, I'm planning to do 3000 watts solar panels in my house but I'm confused which brand to choose from. which of these brands are the best - Hyundai. Kyocera , Aleo Solar ,Bosch,UpSolar,moser baer solar, Samsung solar , S-Energy, Future solar, lg, mage solar, mitsubishi , Canadian solar, Nesl ,Pramac, Masdar , Conergy , SHARP , Trina , Schott . Yingli , Powercom , SunPower,BAUER, AXITEC , Q CELLS , Sainty , Neo , Steca . Please help .

Sunpower with out a doubt is the best. Also happens to be the most expensive.
You have manufacturers listed there from tier 1- tier 4

[Hyacinth]

Is there a big difference between Sunpower older models (E19) vs newer E20/E21 and x series? Local company has a surplus of E19 245w panels which puts it at a similar price point as newer Chinese YingLi panels.

[SoCalsolar]

At that price point

go SP it's a no brainer. The difference is negligible.

[PenguinSolar]

Sunpower with out a doubt is the best. Also happens to be the most expensive.
You have manufacturers listed there from tier 1- tier 4

What are the general characteristics to look for in a good solar panel? I attended the SCE Solar Class and someone asked the questions if "Brand Mattered". I think being SCE they dodged the question by saying on the CA Go Solar site there's an approved equipment list which all vendors/brands have been tested and met the criteria -- they mentioned about specific performance and warranty but not sure what else is needed to get on the CA Solar Initiative approve list.

They kind of made it sound that picking anything on the list would be safe. Looking at the list there's 1000s of different panels that could make your head spin

I can do two approaches:
1) Go find local solar installers and see what they pitch and pick from there
2) Find out the best brands (In general seems SunPower is Cadillac class out there) and then price vendors against that.

In the vain of approach #2 what are the other things that classify a good solar panel?

- Rating? PTC/STC
- Warranty? What are the general warranty periods I should look for? Roofing, Panel, etc?
- Durability/Reputation -- not sure how I research this, is there a "Consumer Reports" on panels or some sort?

Thanks so much for helping a newbie!

[SoCalsolar]

Quality matters

Pen,

The best way to determine quality of panels is to read the warranty for the panels you are considering. Google makes this easy and your dealers really ought to provide you one with your quotes. I know panels never fail etc etc. But thats not what the warranties say. It's whats on paper that counts not what you are told here or by a sales guy. Which SCE event were you at? I have been to a couple recently also. SCE got in trouble for conflict of interest after they bought into a big SP project and the previous presenter for SCE heavily promoted SP. The new girl is much more diplomatic but not as knowledgeable.

[PenguinSolar]

Pen,

The best way to determine quality of panels is to read the warranty for the panels you are considering. Google makes this easy and your dealers really ought to provide you one with your quotes. I know panels never fail etc etc. But thats not what the warranties say. It's whats on paper that counts not what you are told here or by a sales guy. Which SCE event were you at? I have been to a couple recently also. SCE got in trouble for conflict of interest after they bought into a big SP project and the previous presenter for SCE heavily promoted SP. The new girl is much more diplomatic but not as knowledgeable.

Yup, she was pretty diplomatic and a bit of a politician. When anyone tried to talk specifics, like a brand or a particular type she would just point back to the go solar website and say all the manufacturers panels have been tested and approved for the program. This was in response to some asking "Does Brand Matter"?

The SCE seminar was the webinar, so maybe met on the phone line as there was about 40 participants . They have an upcoming one in San Bernardino, CA bit far from OC. They will have installers there... wondering if it's a more "meet and greet" cocktail hour adn really chatting up the customers or more "speed dating" or getting your stats and getting your digits for a quickie call later.

I did find useful the bid comparison sheet they referred to with it's checklist. One vendor I asked for their contractor number and it did show it was active but only approved for concrete work... well really hope they aren't trying to pour any concrete on my roof!!! I asked about it and they said they'll get back to me.... hmmmmm.... of course this is what I get for responding to a newspaper ad.

It's a bit of a wild wild west, with so many options and too many choices. Seems the de-facto choice is with SunPower as they are the "safe bet". You know what you get, they have good reputation, and you can sleep better at night but it's very spendy. For the cost conscience consumer (trying to get a good value and reliability say the corolla vs the mercedes) you really need to do some extra HW to separate the wheat from the chaff to know what's good.

Right now even perusing the threads it almost feels: SunPower vs other, with no distinct strong value brand people all seem to like (Toyota, Honda). Find it a bit strange or maybe just a SoCal thing.

Essentially looking for 3-5 brands (panels and inverters) I should focus on and then get quotes to determine a good reputable installer at a good price.