Cheap vs. Expensive solar panels: What's the difference?

When you’re looking to buy solar panels, the difference in price can be quite steep. It’s hard to understand and justify it judging just by the looks. What's the difference between cheap and expensive solar panels? In this video, Tanya, A1 SolarStore business manager, will explain what the price of a solar panel depends on and go over three panels in different price groups.

Three primary factors that impact the solar panel’s cost price are:

— Country of origin. Chinese solar panels are the cheapest but they can be hard to find and quality + warranties can be lower than those of panels made in NA and Europe.

— Brand name. Solar panels from reputable companies tend to cost more than average.

— Solar panel design. The PV module properties that include power output, efficiency, quality, warranties and design features also impact the final price of a solar panel.

Remember that the solar system’s price comprises soft costs as well as hardware costs. Solar panels make up about 60-70% of solar system hardware costs when you don’t add batteries. However, hardware costs are only 30-40% of the final solar system price. Soft costs of a solar system include permitting, installation labor, inspection, shipping and more. In this context, choosing expensive solar panels over cheap solar panels doesn’t impact the price of a PV system as much as it might seem at a first glance.

Here is a quick summary of solar panel brands mentioned in this video:

Panasonic. Panasonic is one of the oldest brands on the solar market with a history of making panels back in 60-70s. Panasonic solar panels are known to be high-quality, and efficient but expensive. The headquarters are in Japan but the panels are likely to be made in Singapore.

‌Trina Solar. Trina is another Chinese brand that fights for first place in the solar market. Trina solar panels frequently set records in efficiency numbers while being inexpensive. Trina Solar makes solar panes for home as well as PV modules for commercial installations.

‌Mission Solar. Mission Solar is a brand from Texas, US. They are headquartered in San Antonio and that’s where they make their panels as well. Mission Panels might not be the most efficient in the industry but they are homemade and, unlike panels from overseas, available most of the time.

About A1 SolarStore: A1 SolarStore is a North American online store of solar equipment with the largest chain of fulfillment centers in the U.S. It was founded in 2018 in Miami, Florida by Alexey Kruglov and Sergey Fedorov. A1 SolarStore participates in RE+ events to cooperate and stay in touch with the leaders of the American solar industry on a regular basis. The company partnered with Solar Energy International (SEI), a non-profit organization from Colorado that educates and trains students, alumni and end-users of solar energy. A1 SolarStore Magazine and YouTube channel teach about the basics of solar energy and the impact that it brings.

[markmay]

Thank you for the info. I have been looking at some Trina panels and feel better about the choice.

[THEOFFGRIDMOUNTAINHOMESTEAD]

Good points to consider when selecting your panels.

I personally have found much higher efficiency, better low light performance and closer adherence to nameplate ratings out of more expensive (name brand/tier1) panels.

Cheap panels. (No name brand/tier6) panels often have bloated output ratings or either just straight lies about their output. Less efficient, heat soak worse, and poor/wavy glass etc.

There are a few shining stars in this “cheap” category but they are few and far between.

[AMANKUMAR-jeyx]

@youtube stop the number of long ads on every video

[majharulislam]

Excellent explanation. Based ROI clearly described. If space is not a problem, cost/ wat/ year is the better indication to invest, not the efficiency.