Phono solar panels review

Phono Solar (now officially called Sumec Phono Solar) is a Chinese company that produces tier one solar panels with a 10 year product warranties and 25 year performance warranties.  In addition, the Phono website states they will extend the product warranty to 12 years if the panels are registered with them. 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.

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

At the end of 2016 Phono Solar’s manufacturing capacity was around 800 megawatts. While that adds up to a lot of solar panels it only makes them a small manufacturer in the scheme of things. The world’s largest manufacturer, Jinko Solar, produced over 8 times as much with around 6.6 gigabytes of production in 2016.

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 10 year product and 25 year performance warranties and they are all definitely certified as corrosion resistant.  The Phone website says they will provide an additional 2 years product warranty if panels shipped after the 1st of January 2015 are registered with PhonoCare.  I could not find a document on their site giving any conditionos for this extended warranty.

Unacceptable Performance Warranty Condition

Unfortunately, like many panel manufactuers, Phono Solar has a condition in their warranty documents that I personally consider unacceptable.  Their product warranty states they will either repair or replace defective panels, but if their output falls below the minimum stet by their performance warranty, the document states:

"Phono Solar will, at its sole option, replace such loss in power by either (a) providing additional Product(s) to the Customer to make up for such loss in power or (b) replacing the defective Product(s) at the option of Phono Solar."

This means that if 4 panels in a roofotp solar system have output that is 20% below the minimum allowed by their performance warranty, Phono Solar could give a single new panel and claim that makes up for the loss in power.  This is not acceptable because a normal rooftop solar system has no place to put an extra panel and in most systems poor performing panels need to be replaced to prevent them dragging down the performance of others. 

The good news is, Phono panels should be reliable and so hopefully it won't be necessary to use their performance warranty.

Under Australian consumer law you are protected by consumer guarantees that apply regardless of what the written warranty states or if it has expired. 

Dual Glass Module

Phono produces a dual glass module that operates at a higher voltage than standard panels. Its product warranty is for 10 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.

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.