Canadian Solar Inc review

Canadian Solar Inc - Solar Panel Reviews

4.8

Based on 1993 ratings

Finn's Canadian Solar Inc Panels Review & Verdict

Finn Peacock has been a Chartered Electrical Engineer since 1998, and is ex-CSIRO

Canadian Solar Panels are not made in Canada. But they are very good budget panels from a massive Chinese company that do what they say on the tin. They are well supported and well warranted in Australia. I'd be happy to have them on my roof.

There's not much more to say. A sensible choice that should sit on your roof for decades churning out the kilowatt-hours and pay for themselves quicker than a more expensive brand. Sometimes the boring but sensible choice is the right choice. 

Canadian Solar Inc Panels: Pros & Cons

  • Well-built, consistent dimensions.
  • Variety of models offering competitive efficiency ratings.
  • Large, vertically integrated Tier 1 company making all solar components in house.
  • Shipping gigawatts of solar panels.
  • Most heavily involved in using their own panels on their own solar farms.
  • Local office to handle warranty even if your retailer/installer has disappeared.
  • They're not Canadian at all.
  • Few models are offered in an install-friendly width, most are 1130mm or 1300mm wide, making them difficult to handle and easy to damage.

About Canadian Solar Inc

Canadian Solar is a "Tier 1" producer of panels. Despite their name, any panels you buy in Australia will not be made in Canada. Canadian Solar panels we purchase are most likely to be made in China - not that there's anything wrong with that.

These days the company's panels generally carry a 25 year product warranty in Australia. Canadian Solar has an Australian office located in Melbourne to look after local support and warranty issues.

Canadian Solar produces a variety of panels, all of which are corrosion resistant and therefore suitable for installation anywhere in Australia. The company manufactures poly and monocrystalline modules, most using PERC (Passivated Emitter and Rear Contact) technology; but some boasting TOPCon (tunnel oxide passivated contact) or HJT (heterojunction) tech. Like many major manufacturers, it has also moved into half-cut (dual) and shingle cell configurations.

The highest efficiency panels produced by Canadian Solar (HiHero) are up to 22.5% efficient. This higher than average efficiency can be useful when available roof space is limited.

You can find specifications and pricing of selected models available in Australia on my solar panel comparison table.

Company History

In 1987 the founder of Canadian Solar, Shawn Qu, was earning around $5 a week in today's money teaching in China. That year he moved to Canada and began studying to obtain his masters degree in physics. In 2001 he founded the company.

Shawn Qu now spends most of his time in China and that is understandable, as in winter it is so cold in Canada it is possible to freeze to death in less time than it takes for a bear to find you and eat you.

It hasn't always been smooth sailing for the company. The firm experienced a significant setback in June 2016 when a cell manufacturing plant they owned in Funing was hit by the worst tornado in China in 50 years, injuring employees and collapsing almost 4 hectares of factory buildings.

Manufacturing Locations And Capacity

Canadian Solar has 20 manufacturing facilities spread across Asia and the Americas. Its 2022 module production capacity was approximately 32 GW, while cell manufacturing capacity was around 19.8 GW.

As August 2023, the company had shipped around 96GW of panel capacity - quite a jump on September 2022's  75 gigawatts and from its mid-2021 tally of 55 gigawatts.

Canadian Solar Builds Solar Farms

Canadian Solar is more heavily involved in the construction of solar farms than most solar panel manufacturers. The company says it has developed, built and connected more than 8.8GW of projects across 20 countries - including large scale PV power stations here in Australia.

By August 2023, the Company had approximately 609 MW of its own projects in operation, 6.9 GW of projects under construction or in backlog, plus an additional 17.7 GW of projects in advanced and early-stage pipeline. 

Warranty Procedure For Orphaned Canadian Solar Customers

If you have purchased Canadian Solar panels from a solar installer who has since gone out of business, the responsibility for warranty claims shifts to Canadian Solar. Their customer service line in Australia is 03 8609 1844 - affected customers should contact this line for assistance and advice on how to arrange for panel replacement under warranty. 

I Am Fine With Recommending Canadian Solar Panels

Canadian Solar is considered a tier 1 solar panel producer, which means banks and other institutions consider both the panels and the company reliable enough to be a worthwhile investment.

The company's panels are pretty popular with installers here in Australia, ranking equal third in the SolarQuotes 2022 Installers Choice awards; in the budget category.

I have no problem recommending Canadian Solar panels. They are a generally reliable panel that provides good value for money. Just don’t expect them to come from Canada.

Reviewers report paying:
$3,499 - $26,104

For a

Canadian Solar Inc System

Depending on hardware choice and installation difficulty

Canadian Solar Inc has 20 solar panels in our database

Filter by:

Type of solar panel 
Wattage 
Panel Efficiency 
Approx. Cost/Watt 
Model number
Series
Wattage
Panel efficiency (%)
Approx Cost per Watt AUD Retail incl GST
Approx cost per panel AUD Retail incl GST
Panel technology
Country of manufacture
CS3N-400MS
HiKu Mono (132)
400 W
19.7%
$0.38
$158
Monocrystalline
China
CS3N-405MS
HiKu Mono (132)
405 W
19.9%
$0.38
$158
Monocrystalline
China
CS3N-410MS
HiKu Mono (132)
410 W
20.2%
$0.38
$158
Monocrystalline
China
CS3N-415MS
HiKu Mono (132)
415 W
20.4%
$0.38
$158
Monocrystalline
China
CS3N-420MS
HiKu Mono (132)
420 W
20.7%
$0.38
$158
Monocrystalline
China
CS3N-425MS
HiKu Mono (132)
425 W
20.9%
$0.38
$158
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-395MS
HiKu 6
395 W
20.2%
$0.40
$166
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-400MS
HiKu 6
400 W
20.5%
$0.40
$166
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-405MS
HiKu 6
405 W
20.7%
$0.40
$166
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-410MS
HiKu 6
410 W
21.0%
$0.40
$166
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-415MS
HiKu 6
415 W
21.3%
$0.40
$166
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-420MS
HiKu 6
420 W
21.7%
$0.40
$166
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-415HAG
HiHero
415 W
21.3%
$0.42
$184
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-420HAG
HiHero
420 W
21.5%
$0.42
$184
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-425HAG
HiHero
425 W
21.8%
$0.42
$184
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-430HAG
HiHero
430 W
22.0%
$0.42
$184
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-435HAG
HiHero
435 W
22.3%
$0.42
$184
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-440HAG
HiHero
440 W
22.5%
$0.42
$184
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-415T
TOPHiKu 6
415 W
21.3%
$0.42
$185
Monocrystalline
China
CS6R-440T
TOPHiKu 6
440 W
22.5%
$0.42
$185
Monocrystalline
China

 

Canadian Solar Inc Reviews (1993)

Show Most Relevant reviews from All time

  • 5 star 1571
  • 4 star 387
  • 3 star 24
  • 2 star 3
  • 1 star 8

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Had 10 kW Canadian Solar panels installed almost 7 years ago with 2 x SMA SunnyBoy inverters. Both components of this solar array seem to be pretty much bullet proof.
The system is producing around 13,000 kW per year, down from 14,000 kW per year initially.
Very happy with this system. It paid for itself in approx 3 years.
We had not received a power bill until just recently, following the recent increases in power prices, and we are now planning to add batteries.

System Cost

$10,000 to $12,500

System Size

10kW

Installed By

The 25 year manufacturer warranty and the 25 year performance warranty on the product is a major confidence reassurance and this is what influenced our decision to choose Canadian Solar panels.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$10,000 to $12,500

System Size

10kW

Installed By

From what I can see these panels work great, we had Canadian panels in our last home with great reliability so I’m looking for a repeat from these new panels.

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

Again, we went with Canadian Solar due to the high ratings. We got the flameless model as the panels are installed onto a flat roof making water run off more efficient acting on the advice from Solar Wholesalers.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

8kW

Installed By

DC optimizers that come with Canadian solar has been very helpful with shading on two of my panels helping me get the most out of each and every panel on my roof.

Inverter Brand

Solaredge

System Cost

$6,000 to $10,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

The number of panels installed were fewer than I have had previously, and the size of the system was slightly bigger, because of improvements in technology. Right from the start I've had 99% efficiency at peak times.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

4kW

Installed By

Canadian Solar - TOPHiKu6 440w N-Type (CS6R-440T) TOPCon Tech S0923

Inverter Brand

Enphase

System Cost

More than $20,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

An incentive was offered by Go Green Energy for this review. Learn more here.

We have't paid a power bill as yet, and it appears that this won't happen. At the moment we are using an air conditioner and clothes drier most every day and the solar panels account for this usage.

The only time I contacted Go Green was to get his recommendation for a solar panel cleaner.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$8,000 to $10,000

System Size

9kW

Installed By

Our 8kW of panels are split over the east and west faces of our roof. (The north face is too small for the array size we have.) The east bank get us off grid in the morning very early in the sun's travel, and the west-facing panels keep us off grid until just before sunset for almost all our electrical loading.

In the middle of the day, neither set of panels is generating full power, but because the total array power exceeds the (6kW) inverter capacity, the inverter is running at full power for a major part of the day, which would not happen if the panels were all concentrated on one side of the roof.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6kW

Installed By

The Solar Wholesaler solar panel report also provided the estimated system efficiency and energy output for each month of the year. Currently, the power generation from the solar panels is within the range as per the report provided.

However, it has only been 3 weeks since my system was installed. Time will tell.

Inverter Brand

SolarEdge

System Cost

$8,000 to $10,000

System Size

10kW

Installed By

Neil finished on a very overcast day and I was surprised of the power that was generated
Since I've had solar, My bill comes monthly. First couple bills had small amount to pay but after about 3rd month haven'tplayed cent, have been in credit for approximately $230 each time.
Happy even times when weather wet for most month no bill and have been using air-conditioning more

Inverter Brand

SMA

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

The Canadian panels are still clean and usually generating the full 5.05kw from the installed 6kw system.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Appears to be working to specifications



Not impressed that your web site has recommended a business that was travelling so close to the wind.
Will not recommend your service in the future.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Newest Canadian panels, so less on the roof,

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$10,000 to $12,500

System Size

10kW

Installed By

Seems industry standard, all quotes used Canadian panels. I’m happy with them

Inverter Brand

Goodwe

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Can't really comment on the quality of the panels, they are still on the roof, that's a good thing. The overall performance of teh system is pretty bad but no idea if that's down to the panels or the inverters

Inverter Brand

Delta

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

The panels are working fine so far , I run an 8 KW system , 5 Kw to the feed in , . The 8 allows . quicker start up , I have panels on three sides East ,North ,West or close enough to. I try to select what time or days that i need more power. Hotwater system runs when i turn it on not off peak . A good System , i am quite happy with it so far. hoping it keeps working top grade for years to come . even with a cold winter and price rises on the way i still believe the system will keep in front .

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

8kW

Installed By

Very pleased we went with an East/West configuration on our roof as they start producing quite early in the morning & continue producing early into the evening. Much longer than our previous system.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

They produce enough power on a very cloudy rainy day to charge my batteries and provide power to the house the grid is turned off until the new meter is installed

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$15,000 to $20,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

The cost of our system was increased by the need to upgrade our supply cable from the street, and upgrade our meter box.Those extra costs were clearly explained to us before installation.There were no surprises.

Inverter Brand

SolarEdge

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Happy with the panels. All black and sits clean on my roof. Also too early to tell in regards to reliability. I do get 25 year product warranty and performance warranty so I do hope it lives up to it's marketing

Inverter Brand

Growatt

System Cost

$2,000 to $4,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Again, after 2 and half weeks they are working well

For 12 months they have been very efficiently using the sun to our advantage. on clear days we always hit 5kw and on cloudy days, they still catch a certain amount of energy. Very happy.

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$2,000 to $4,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

Great performance from the Canadian Solar Inc panels and Sungrow Inverter.
The digital app is very informative and easy to use.

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

1 year on and we have had no issues with our panels at all and they continue to generate efficiently, maxing out the capacity of the converter regularly during the typical times.

They have also held up against a number of storms with relatively small hail recently, not sustaining any damage.

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

10kW

Installed By

The App connected to this solar and battery system works well. Rated the panels as good and not fantastic only because research will tell you where they fit into the overall range.

System Cost

$15,000 to $20,000

System Size

8kW

Installed By

Ergon energy finally allowed a feedin tarrif connection after they found that they had infact already upgraded the local transformer on the grid. Several performance and other factors to be reviewed.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

High performance 370W panels are very sensitive to sunlight. Great see the inverter hit maximum output power with the rising sunshine.

Now mid winter, the 18 panels generate a peak of 4.9 to 5kW of energy. On a sunny day, the panels will fully charge our PowerWall battery by midday.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$15,000 to $20,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

We are already impressed by the amount of power our 7.7kW system produces and even on cloudy June days we are usually self sufficient and exporting back to the grid.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

7kW

Installed By

I’ve actually got 6.3kw, getting 32 - 33kwh on a nice day going into Winter.
Electricity used to be $7 - $8 per day, down to about $3 now, can’t wait for Summer.

Inverter Brand

Goodwe

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6kW

Installed By

Panels are fixed in a professional way, without any damage on my property. I always recommending my friends to approach them. As they are very genuine and good in deal. They are so promised people.
Happy to continue with them for a Long term.

Inverter Brand

SolaX Power

System Cost

$2,000 to $4,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

I'd like to think these panels weren't made in China but then they probably were. My research reveals they are supposed to be a reasonably good quality, good performing panel but I guess time will tell.

Update: I am disappointed in the performance of these panels as they are not generating the amount of electricity I thought they would. I'm not sure if there is a problem with them or if it's just because of inclement weather but I am still getting electricity bills that are not that much improved on what I used to get pre-installation of this system.

Inverter Brand

SMA

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

7kW

Installed By

I'm very happy with our solar panels - usually running at around 4.5kW. Our last 2 power bills over Spring and Summer have both been in credit. Our annual power cost is about $200!

Inverter Brand

Sofar 3ph (Other)

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Some of the panels I have are working fine but others are really underperforming with 3 of 18 only producing 75% of the norm produced by the others. I don not see there to be shading problems and they have a west orientation which is match by 5 others in the system and yet they are not producing.

Inverter Brand

SolarEdge

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

The panels are the latest 365Kw models, slightly larger than the 300's apparently but well made with additional reinforcing with black surrounds. They face WNW but start generating power at 8.00 am in the morning (winter) before they even have direct sunlight on them.

Over summer I ended up producing up to 40Kw daily, so exporting up to 30 Kw at times so very happy. Over the last Qtr I got a $65 Credit from Red Energy with a FiT of 11c pkw.

Inverter Brand

Huawei

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Producing nicely considering the poor weather we have had since install date.
1 Year on and still very happy with the panels... They stay very clean and appear like new after rain. System is producing super results and so pleased that had Green Wiring install another system at our business premises.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

I'm happy with the performance and reliability of my Canadian Solar Inc panels

Inverter Brand

Guangdong East Power

System Cost

$2,000 to $4,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

These panels have been working superbly since installation. On a good (Spring) day, our 7kWh panels can pull in excess of 40kWh. The output per panel is also good as we only needed 19 panels for our 7kWh system.

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

7kW

Installed By

Panels are performing well but, during install, the installers did not let me know that some of the panels would be in part shade during part of the day, they should have discussed it with me before and we could have decided on a better location, there was a lack of comunication between installers and myself, until after the the system had been installed.

Inverter Brand

Solaredge

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

Old one was Canadian, well established brand, old one lived through hail storms, got to be good enough.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

13kW

Installed By

Been using Canadian only since 6 years ago. never had an issue, so the new one ofcourse going to be the same.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

13kW

Installed By

Again, these have only been installed for a few weeks but the performance seems good and each panel has very similar output each day. Like the 370W panels because I need less space on the roof. So far so good.

Inverter Brand

Solaredge

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6.6kW

Installed By

Again the panels are probably fine but because Infinity Energy hid the monitoring software from me I have no idea how long I had the issue the the problem panel.

Inverter Brand

Solaredge

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

3kW

Installed By

We have the Canadian Solar panels with black surround and they look great

Inverter Brand

Solaredge

System Cost

$6,000 to $8,000

System Size

6kW

Installed By

Panels are canadian solar

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Size

5kW

Installed By

They look good.

I think the installer set them too close to my gutter, I'm going to have to get them moved when I install my patio roof... which is unfortunate...

Inverter Brand

Sungrow

System Cost

$8,000 to $10,000

System Size

1.5kW

Installed By

So glad that we went for a big system and covered the whole of our top roof as we have the added bonus of it shading the roof and now the top floor doesn’t get anywhere near as hot in summer.

Inverter Brand

Shenzen Sofar Solar

System Cost

$4,000 to $6,000

System Size

8kW

Installed By

I was told that once I received my first electricity bill that I may need to review whether or not the amount of panels would be sufficient in getting my bill reduced to a point that I would be happy with. Not sure whether there would be a better option for electricity provider that you could advise of or I could have a review of the system and whether it could/should be modified.

Inverter Brand

Mass Energy 5KTLM-G2 (Other)

System Cost

$2,000 to $4,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

Our panels haven’t skipped a moment. We have no regrets regarding getting these panels. They look good and are generating more Kwh than anticipated. They have been completely hassle free and well worth the money.

Inverter Brand

Goodwe

System Cost

$6,000 to $10,000

System Size

5kW

Installed By

we have 13 north facing Canadian Solar Kupower 35mm 300W Solar PV panels - Total 3900W generating around 2.997Kw during the middle of the day

Inverter Brand

Zeversolar

System Cost

$3,000 to $6,000

System Size

3kW

Installed By

The highest ‘real-time’ production reading I get is less than 4400kw. For a 6.55kw system, facing directly north at 35deg with ZERO shade, I’m disappointed I do t receive a higher reading.

Inverter Brand

Fronius

System Cost

$3,000 to $6,000

System Size

More than 6kW

Installed By

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