Phono solar panels review

Phono Solar (now officially called Sumec Phono Solar) is a Chinese company that produces tier one solar panels with a 12 year product warranty and 25 year performance warranty. They are certified as corrosion resistant and so are suitable for installation by the sea. Phono Solar does not have an Australian office, so the company that imports the panels will be responsible for their warranties. At the time of writing, Supply Partners is the importer for Phono panels in Australia.

Company History

Phono Solar was founded by the Sumec/Sinomach conglomerate, apparently in 2004. The huge Sumec/Sinomach conglomeration has so fingers in so many pies they have probably had extra hands grafted on to accommodate them all. They are involved in everything from large and small scale generator manufacture, to lawn mowers, to clothing. They are currently Forbes 5^th fastest growing company in the world. 

Phono Solar first started large scale manufacture of solar panels in 2008 with a 120 megawatt solar panel production line. They expanded this to 200 megawatts the following year and by 2014 they were considered to be a tier one manufacturer by Bloomberg.

Manufacturing Capacity

Phono Solar have advised that their most recent production figures are 2.2 gigawatts for 2018. The world’s largest manufacturer, Jinko Solar, produced over 5 times as much with around 1 gigawatts of production in 2018.

Manufacturing Location

Phono Solar manufactures their panels in Nanjing, a city that is often known as Nanking to English speakers. It is on the Yangtze River and is only a one and a half hour express train ride from Shanghai.

Phono Solar Is Very Proud Of How Their Panels Performed in DVN GL Tests

DNV GL is, among other things, an international certification body. They perform independent tests of solar panels. Phono Solar did extremely well in testing, coming second overall in an extensive round of tests completed in 2016, which I wrote about here.

Phono Solar Panels

Datasheets for Phono panels can be acquired from their download page. If you get information on their standard module from there you’ll find the datasheet actually calls them premium modules. These standard/premium modules can be up to 17.3% efficient. 

Ultra High Efficiency Panels

Phono produces PERC panels that they refer to as ultra high efficiency panels, which are up to 18.4% efficient.

Smart Modules

Phono smart modules are panels with built in SolarEdge optimizers. These work to maximise the output of each panel so if one panel performs poorly it won’t drag down the performance of others. Phono Solar says they can provide up to 25% more output, but 10% to 15% is more realistic under most circumstances..

Warranties And Corrosion Resistance

All the above panels come with 12 year product and 25 year performance warranties and they are all definitely certified as corrosion resistant.  

Dual Glass Module

Phono produces a dual glass module that operates at a higher voltage than standard panels. Its product warranty is for 12 years, the same as other Phono panels, but their performance warranty is 5 years longer at 30 years. These panels are made for larger and higher voltage inverters than are normally used by Australian homes.

Warranty procedure for orphaned Phono customers

If you have purchased Phono panels from a solar installer who has since gone out of business, the responsibility for warranty claims shifts to Supply Partners, who are the importer of Phono panels in Australia. They can be contacted on 07 3122 7584, and have advised that they will ask Phono customers to email through photos of affected panels, along with their serial numbers. Supply Partners will then recommend installers to contact to arrange replacement of the panels - with labor costs involved not being covered under warranty.

My Recommendation

I would have no problem with installing Phono Solar modules on my roof, especially since the did so well in DNV GL testing. They are also very competitively priced. Personally, I’d take them over a considerable number of other tier one panels.