Top Solar Panels

Top Solar Panels

5. The Silfab Black on Black Mono Solar Panel

These panels are now available in up to 340 watts per panel. The reason Silfab is on this list is that it's probably going to give you the best value. You know if you're looking for an economical solution that offers current state-of-the-art technology as far as you know high efficiency cells have a sleek black-on-black aesthetic design but without the super-premium price.

The Silfab is going to be one of those panels that offer you that tremendous value. There now part of the reason that they can do

that is their manufacturing is almost fully automated meaning that these solar panels come off a robotic assembly line. There's very little human interaction in that process and so that allows them to drive the labor cost virtually to zero. This drives the cost of the panels down as well so if you're looking for a very low-cost option that offers good performance.

Silfab could be a great choice. If you know where to shop you can get these for as little as 49 cents a watt. That's before shipping and freight but if you're just looking for sourcing the solar panels themselves.

4. The Han Wah Q-Peak Duo BLK G6+ Panel

 

This solar is a 120 half cell panel. But in terms of the size and the form factor, it's a standard 60 cell size. The unique thing about the Q-cells panel is what they call quantum technology which is really just some fancy marketing talk. The folks at Hanoi have developed a reflective paste that they apply to the back of the solar cell. Which actually reflects some of the sunlight that otherwise would have passed straight through and been lost will get reflected outback. The front of the solar cell allows the cell to capture more energy that otherwise would have been lost. So the better direct sunlight performance also better performance on overcast days using that quantum technology. In terms of cost, the Q-cells panel is very close to the Silfab solar panel. This is a very competitively priced product. But you can expect to pay probably five to ten cents a watt higher than with the regular Silfab panel. But other than that they look a lot the same size and form factor and overall a very good value for residential solar installation.

 

3. The REC Alpha Black Seres Panel

 The REC Panels offer higher efficiency and power ratings up to 375 watts per panel. Now not all of that additional power comes from the cell efficiency of the modules themselves. If you look at the dimensions the modules themselves are actually a little bit larger than a standard 60 cell module.A standard 60 cell module is 65 inches tall by 39 inches wide whereas the Rec Alpha panels are 40 inches wide and 68 inches Tall. So a little bit more surface area means a little bit more power production for you as well. The other nice thing about the rec panels is they carry like a premium tier warranty. Now when you look at solar panel warranties a standard solar panel is supposed to produce at least 80 or 85 percent of its rated power in year 25.

A top-tier panel is generally going to guarantee you 90 or 92 percent and that's the case with the rec panel.

They actually guarantee 92 percent of the rated power at the end of the warranty period so this is important if you're calculating total performance over the lifetime of the system. Whereas a normal solar panel will lose about half a percent of its performance per year. The rec and the other premium panels are only going to lose about a quarter percent per year so that's something important to consider there also as I mentioned earlier the physical dimensions are a little bit larger than a standard 60 cell module. So when you're using your design tool if you're designing your own system or if you're an installer out there make sure that you count for those few extra inches of the dimensions when you're laying out your solar panels on the roof. Then the other thing I'll say about the rec panels is that although you will pay a slight premium over an economy brand like Silfab or maybe q cells. It does not really come with that super steep price point like some of the top premium brands do. So if you're looking for a good high-efficiency panel that's nice aesthetically nice design as well. The rec panel may be the right choice for you.

 

2. The LG Neon R Prime or Black Panel

 Now we are able to get up to lg neon 380w per panel out of a 60 cell form factor. So you know LG has always been one of the premium brands when it comes to solar panels. But I’ll tell you now when you have other brands coming out there like Rec that we just mentioned for me it's hard to justify paying the additional premium which could be 20% or 30%.

A watt extra for the LG neon panel to get an extra, let's say 10. The 10 watts of power where I could get a Rec, Alpha black 375-watt panel and save considerably on the material cost but for those of you that want the premium brand name, the LG neon prime is an excellent product. If you're in an area where you have very limited roof space and you just have to squeeze more power out of a limited surface area then premium panels like the neon r prime. This could be a good choice. Again it is not going to be cheap but if the price tag is not an issue. The LG product is a great product.

 

1. The Sun power Maxeon 5

The maxeon 5 is an integrated ac module meaning that the solar panel actually has a built-in microinverter. Microinverters you'll recall that at some point in the solar system. There has to be an inversion meaning you're converting the direct current dc power that comes directly off the solar cells into usable alternating current power which is what our homes are wired for and what the electric grid is wired for so by doing. You don't have to worry about your individual solar panel mounting and bonding on the roof everything's already built-in. Therefore for the system owner, it’s a nice benefit because it allows each panel to operate independently at its maximum potential and it gives you the ability to track each individual solar panel on the app.

Now the other thing that's very special about the sun power panels is that they have hands down the absolute most efficient solar cell out there with their sun power maxeon 2 panels. You can get up to 420 watts per panel. Now, these panels are what's called a 66 cell form factor meaning that instead of the standard 65 inches tall by 40 inches wide form factor these panels are actually 72 inch tall by 40 inch wide. So basically one extra row of cells in the panel. But still in terms of the energy density and the efficiency you're not gonna find anything that's really even close to what a Sunpower panel can offer now with the advent of new ac coupled batteries.

You can also use sun power for grid-tie with battery backup systems. You're not limited anymore to grid-tie only so with a Sunpower maxeon system.