Shade is bad for solar panels. They work by changing light energy into electrical energy, so any shade reduces output.  This makes it a bad idea to locate panels anywhere they’ll be out of direct sunlight for a significant part of the day. [Read more…]

PVEL 2022 PV Module Reliability Scorecard — More Panels Pass All 5 Main Tests Than Ever Before.

PVEL stands for PV Evolution Labs.  Their speciality is torturing solar panels to determine how tough they are.  Every year they publish a report that separates Top Performing panels from those they don’t call Top Performing.  This year was no different — except in the ways it wasn’t the same. [Read more…]

What are the best solar panels to put on an Australian roof in 2022?

I think the best people to answer that question are professional, Australian installers. [Read more…]

Many premium solar panels are now warranted until…2046.

Solar panel prices have recently risen… except those with 25 year product warranties. 

The pandemic’s economic slowdown was severe. But it’s hard to keep humanity’s lust for stuff down, and the economy is bouncing back.  The rebound caught many off guard, causing shortages and price rises across an array of industries.  Solar is no exception. 

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At the moment we’re locked down in Adelaide.  Because I’m no longer able to smuggle badgers across the border in my beard as I’d planned, I’m catching up on stuff I should have written about weeks or months ago. 

One of these things is the PVEL 2021 Module Reliability Scorecard report that came out in May.  While I’ve been tardy bringing it to your attention, it’s far too interesting to let slip by. [Read more…]

Over the next week or so I’ll write some articles busting solar myths because, if I’ve learned anything from 25 years of internet use, it’s way easier to complain about something than go through the effort of doing something useful.  Today I’m tackling solar energy output in winter in Australia. [Read more…]

Which solar panels would the top installers in Australia put on their homes?

Since I started writing about solar energy in 2009, one of the most common questions put to me is:

“Finn, what are the best solar panels?”

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The Australian Energy Council publishes a report on solar every quarter.  I’ve just read through the latest one. There are only 11 pages of text and graphics, so it’s not too much of an effort if you want to read the whole thing yourself here. 

But since we live a world where everyone is as busy as bees — except for people stuck at home in Melbourne — I’ll make use of my surplus of serenity by summarizing the report. [Read more…]

Recently we’ve had a number of calls from Australians who believe Leapton panels are made in Japan. Just to be clear: Leapton solar panels are made in China.

Update August 12, 2022. There has been some confusion regarding Leapton’s Australian presence, support and warranty services. Find out what’s happening here; including new support and warranty contact information.

Update 9th of March 2021: Leapton Solar recently opened an office in Australia and their phone number is 1800 717 636.  They told me they can handle warranty claims for all Leapton panels in Australia.  (If you you need to make a warranty claim first get in touch with your installer.  But if they’re no longer around you can contact Leapton directly.)

This article is about Leapton Solar panels.  Because this company is headquartered in Japan I’d like to give them a big…

Konnichiwa!

But since they’re actually made in China, perhaps that should be…

Ni Hao!

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LeTID: Limited in new PERC panels from reputable manufacturers and probably not a disaster for old ones.

Fourteen months ago I wrote about a type of solar panel degradation called LeTID.  This is short for Light and elevated Temperature Induced Deterioration.  It’s also Norwegian for “laugh time” which is what I think they called the Joker movie over there. [Read more…]