Phase Shift: Premium Solar Panels Are Dead

The sun appears to be setting on the premium offerings from high-end solar brands.

I’ve got top-of-the-range REC Alpha panels on my roof. I’m a solar snob.

Or at least, I was.

Back when I installed them, premium panels still made sense – kind of. They offered higher efficiency, lower degradation, better heat performance, longer warranties, and peace of mind that the brand would actually honour them. If your roof was small or shady, or if you just liked nice things, it wasn’t totally irrational to spend extra.

But something’s changed. Actually, a lot has.

Now, it appears REC is shifting focus to a new range of cheaper panels. SunPower – once the gold standard – has quietly dropped everything from our solar panel comparison table except their budget P7s and the mid-range Maxeon 3.

The message is clear: the  market for premium panels in Australia is disappearing.

Mind The Cost Gap

And no wonder. The cost gap is enormous. A typical 10 kW system needs about 23 panels. Choose a solid budget brand like Jinko, and you’re looking at around $130 per panel. Go super premium – over $400 each. That’s a $6,000 difference for the same amount of electricity.

What are you really buying with that money?

A slightly slower rate of degradation, which might save you one panel in 25 years. Maybe a warranty that’s slightly more generous… but only if you can prove the failure meets their fine print.

Budget Brands Lifting Their Game

Meanwhile, the budget brands have lifted their game. Jinko, Trina, LONGi. These aren’t no-name panels. They’re backed by massive companies, come with 25-year warranties, and are installed every day by some of the best installers in the country.

A budget brand even won our 2025 Installers Choice Awards for best solar panels, as I revealed in our latest video.

In 2025, there’s simply no reason to spend double or triple per panel just for a badge.

Unless you’re trying to impress other solar snobs at a dinner party.

Premium panels aren’t just overpriced. They’re disappearing. The brands know it. The installers know it. And increasingly, the buyers know it too.

So yes, I’ve got to-of-the-range solar panels on my roof. They’ve been great. But if I were buying today?

I’d put that extra $6,000 toward an extra 12 kWh of battery thanks to the battery rebate.