JA Solar - Solar Panel Reviews

About JA Solar

JA Solar is a giant manufacturer of solar panels. As of mid-2026, over the company's lifespan, they have shipped over 350 GW of panels. While not the largest panel manufacturer in the world, they are one of the largest.

They have concentrated on producing low-cost but reliable panels. Because they are reliable, well-supported in Australia, and good value for money, SolarQuotes has no problem recommending them.

Company History

JA Solar was founded in 2005 by Jin Baofang. I read some interesting stories about this billionaire in the past, but they seem to have been scrubbed from the internet, so I can't back them up. But trust me, they were all good. Or at least good as in amusing.

This internet scrubbing may have had something to do with his detention by the Chinese government towards the end of 2020 on unspecified charges. But these days he's back running JA Solar.

Jin Baofang got his start in solar in 1996, producing monosilicon with three small crucibles. Nine years later, he created JA Solar, which soon made him a billionaire.

In 2015, the company began mass production of dual glass panels with a glass sheet on the front and back and solar cells sandwiched inside. In 2017, they started production of bifacial panels, which can use light that hits the front or the rear. Currently, JA Solar makes monofacial panels, which only use light that hits the front, and bifacial panels.

The company's strategy is referred to as "One body, two wings", and it probably sounds better in Chinese. The body refers to the production of silicon and solar panels, while the wings refer to the production of other products required by solar farms and their construction and commissioning.

JA Solar Production

JA Solar is a giant panel producer and usually among the five largest in the world. In 2025, they shipped 66.5 GW of panels, but in the first half of 2026 they only shipped around 20 GW, which is a reduction from the first half of the previous year.

JA Solar produces its own silicon ingots, which it cuts into wafers to make solar cells. They use these to produce their own panels and also sell several GW of cells per year. Their silicon production makes JA Solar a vertically integrated company, involved in the production of solar silicon, solar cells, and solar panels. This reduces its dependence on outside suppliers.

Production Locations

Most of JA Solar's production occurs in China, where they have multiple factories. They also produce panels in Vietnam and have a new facility in Oman. JA Solar also produced panels in Malaysia, but it's not currently clear if that facility is still operated by JA Solar.

JA Solar's Latest Panels: DeepBlue 5.0

JA Solar has produced DeepBlue panels for many years, and the latest DeepBlue 5.0 panels were launched here in 2026. The residential-sized JAM48D50/LR series includes models rated from 475 W to 490 W, measuring 1.76m by 1.13m. They have a high efficiency of up to 24.5%. They are also resistant to efficiency loss from heat, with a temperature coefficient of -0.26%/°C. This figure is very good, but not uncommon for decent quality panels. 

Larger DeepBlue 5.0 models rated up to 545 W are 1.96m by 1.13m and weigh 27.4 kg. These larger panels can be used for residential installations. However, their larger size and weight make them more difficult to handle, and their size means they may not fit on some roof sections. 

Warranties

Solar panels come with two warranties:

• Product warranties: These cover defects in materials and construction.
• Performance warranties: These promise the panel won't lose more than a set amount of capacity each year.

The length of JA Solar's product warranties depends on the exact model. Many of their panels have a 15-year product warranty, but most used on Australian roofs have a 25-year product warranty. A number of DeepBlue panels have 25-year product warranties when used for rooftop solar. The DeepBlue 5.0 models JAM48D51 460-485 W and JAM54D51 515-540 W are among them. 

If you have a quote for rooftop solar with JA Solar panels, they will almost certainly have a 25-year product warranty. But it's still a good idea to check, as JA Solar has many panels with only a 15-year product warranty.

JA Solar's latest DeepBlue 5.0 panels have a 30-year performance warranty that promises they will lose no more than 1% of their original capacity in their first year and no more than 0.35% of original capacity for each subsequent year. This means the performance requires them to be at 88.85% of original capacity or higher in the final year of their 30-year performance warranty. 

The performance warranty is good, but not exceptional for modern, quality solar panels.

Additional Conditions On Some 25-Year Product Warranties

Some JA Solar panels receive a 25-year product warranty through an extension of their standard warranty. These extensions can have additional conditions. Depending on the model, they may require rooftop installation in Australia or New Zealand and prior approval for installations within 500m of seawater.

Some extended warranties also exclude locations where both the monthly average temperature exceeds 45°C and the monthly average relative humidity exceeds 85%. But there's nowhere in Australia or the world where that applies -- yet. (Maybe JA Solar isn't optimistic about our ability to kick the fossil fuel habit.)

Making A Warranty Claim

If you need to make a warranty claim, you should first contact your installer. But if they are no longer around, you can contact JA Solar directly.

JA Solar Sydney Office: (02) 8912 2165

If you'd prefer to email them, here's their address:

[email protected]

Financial Status

Having panels with a 12-year or 25-year product warranty and a 30-year performance warranty won't do you any good if the company that made them is no longer around. While China has shown it will keep large solar manufacturers that run into severe difficulty on financial life support, there's no guarantee this will continue in the future.

JA Solar has had losses over the past several years of nearly $1 billion Australian in 2024 and 2025 and nearly half a billion in the first half of 2026. While JA Solar is a giant company, in 2025 it's total turnover was around $10.6 billion, so these losses aren't trivial. However, at this time, they are fairly typical for solar panel manufacturing as a whole.

Recommendation

JA Solar's panels have demonstrated reliability under Australian conditions, so SolarQuotes has no problem recommending them.  I would be fine with having them installed on my roof.

If you have JA Solar panels installed, whether your experience has been good, bad, or somewhere in between, leaving a review can help others make an informed decision.