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Latest Trina Solar Panels Review Predicts Great Performance in Hot Aussie Conditions

April 5, 2013 by 13 Comments
trina solar logo and checksheet

Trina solar panels tick a lot of boxes

If you are thinking of buying Trina solar panels –  reviews that you can trust are critical to helping you in your research. After all, unless you are an uber solar geek like me you probably have never heard of the Trina brand before (they are one of the biggest solar panel manufacturers on the planet by the way).

Reliable, honest solar panel reviews are very hard to come by. Why? Firstly because properly testing a solar panel takes at least a year – so that you get all the seasons. Secondly it takes a big investment in carefully calibrated measurement hardware. [Read more...]

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Understanding Solar Panel Specifications Part #2: Power, Tolerance & Efficiency

February 6, 2012 by 4 Comments

In my last blog post I went into great detail about why the “Max Power” quoted on your solar panel specification sheet and the real max power you will actually get from that panel are very different numbers. I showed you how to calculate a more accurate max power by using some little known temperature specs.

In this post I’ll go through the other important numbers that you should look at when comparing solar panels.

[Read more...]

Filed Under: Efficiency, Solar Panel Tests, Solar Panels, Temperature Tagged With: , , , ,

How To Read A Solar Panel Specification: Part #1 Power & Temperature Specs

February 3, 2012 by 14 Comments

Magnifying the NOCT on a solar panel spec

Does a solar panel with a “Max Power” rated at, say 190W, really produce a maximum power of 190W when it is on your roof in the blazing sun?

Short Answer: Not on your nellie!

The max power rating (in Watts) that your solar panels are rated at is the figure that everyone quotes when talking about “panel size”. If the installer or salesperson talks aout a “190W or 250W panel” they are talking about the “max power” rating of the panels. This rating is based on the power output measured from that panel under “Standard Test Conditions” (STC) that, unfortunately, are a long way from “Real World Operating Conditions”.

[Read more...]

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BP Solar Panels come last in 2010 German Solar Panel Test

January 25, 2011 by 2 Comments

A recent solar panel test by German outfit “The TEC Institute for Technical Innovations” which put 15 Solar Panels under identical conditions for a month had some surprising results.

The test measured the power output of the following brands of solar panels:

  • ANTARIS AS M 185 AI
  • CSI CS 5A 180 M
  • ULICA 180 (34) D-UL 800
  • Jiangyin Jetion JT 175 (35)
  • ANTARIS AS M 175 AI 1
  • SolarGate SG 2200
  • Yunnan Tianda TD 175 M5
  • 180 Sharp NU-180 E1
  • aleo S16
  • asola 185W/48
  • CSI CS6P-230P
  • Kyocera KC 175 GHT-2
  • Sym. Energy SE-M231
  • bpSolar 3210 N

Here are the results:

(click  here for full size image)

Basically the lesser known (and cheaper) brands like Ulica and the funny sounding Jiangyin Jetion produced more power in the test than the better known and generally more expensive brands such as Sharp, Kyocera and BP Solar in over their 1 month under the German Sun.

Of course your panels have to keep producing power over 25 or more years and the test doesn’t help measure the longevity of the panels, but the results are pretty interesting nonetheless.

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German magazine tests 10 solar panels

September 4, 2010 by 3 Comments

In September 2006, respected solar power magazine, Photon International, bolted 10 different solar panel manufacturers panels to a test rig in Germany and measured the performance of those panels over 12 months.

The panels they tested were:

  • Photwatt
  • Solarworld
  • Shell Solar
  • BP Solar
  • Solar Fabrik
  • Isofoton
  • Kyocera
  • Sunways
  • Sanyo
  • Sharp

The results of the testing were that the difference in power produced across all the solar panel brands was 9.85%.

The results are shown here:

Solar Panel test

From Photon International Magazine September 2007

As you can see Photwatt panels came top.

Interestingly the Sanyo panels which many vendors claim are the “best of the best”, came second last. Apparently Sanyo’s excuse was that the magazine were supplied with defective panels, oh and the dog ate their homework too I imagine.

The well known brand “Sharp” came a surprising last place.

Of course this test was 3 years ago. I imagine that the losers of this test have upped their game in recent years. The latest issue of the magazine has some more recent results in it as soon as it arrives in the mail from sunny Germany, I’ll let you know the latest winners.

Wouldn’t it be great to put the top 10 most popular Australia panels through a similar test (including the many ‘own-brand’ panels). Let me know if you think that is a good idea in the comments. If I get enough interest I may organise such a test myself. Watch this space…

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