Finn's Trina Panels Review & Verdict
Finn Peacock has been a Chartered Electrical Engineer since 1998, and is ex-CSIRO
Trina Solar are a stalwart of the Australian solar scene. The giant Chinese manufacturer's Australian entity has consistently supplied and supported installers since the early days. They have a track record of doing the right thing if Australians need warranty support on their solar panels - which is reassuring.
Their panels are competitively priced and well-made in high-tech factories. They are consistently voted as Australia's best value solar panels in our annual installer survey, and I happily recommend them.
Trina Panels: Pros & Cons
- Trina are long-established in the Australian market.
- Trina have advised that orphaned customers can lodge panel warranty claims through their online portal available here..
- DE09R.08 and DE09R.B5 Vertex S models are available as 144 cell-10.5amp ratings, making them easier to configure on complex roofs where other high current panels simply won't work in short or paralleled strings.
- Trina are also one of the few to offer dual glass panels, which are fundamentally more durable.
- The warranty offered is a bit ordinary when you look at the documents.
- Some of the shonks in solar will offer Trina in the hope that a good panel reputation will rub off on a dubious-quality install. Even good panels can be let down by a poor-quality installation.
About Trina
Trina Solar is one of the world's largest solar panel manufacturers. By the end of 2025, they had shipped more than 320 GW of solar panels worldwide.
Trina Solar is a Chinese company, with offices worldwide - including one in Sydney. It employs around 22,000 staff globally, most of whom are in China. The firm is based in Changzhou, which, as every schoolchild knows, is just a one-hour train ride from Shanghai. Well, maybe not every schoolchild knows that, but I'm sure all the schoolchildren in China who know it would add up to a hell of a lot.
In addition to Chinese manufacturing capacity, Trina has factories in Thailand, Vietnam, and Indonesia.
25 Year Product Warranties Available
Trina is a well-respected name in solar panel manufacturing. Its panels are reliable and come with product warranties from 15-25 years depending on model. These days, just about every Trina panel going on an Australian home should come with a 25 year product warranty. While 25 years is a long time, it's now the standard product warranty length for decent quality residential solar panels.
Trina Is Aiming For Sustainable Manufacturing
Trina has consistently reduced its environmental impact per kW of panels produced. Its 2025 Sustainability report says energy consumption was down 53% from 2020, while its water use per kW was down 84%. The company has committed to 100% renewable energy use by 2030.
Trina Solar Vertex S And S+ Panels
Trina's Vertex family of modules was originally geared towards utility-scale applications. But in late 2020, the company unveiled the Vertex-S designed for rooftop solar installations that offered up to 405 W capacity. Then in March 2022, the firm announced Australia would be first in line for the even more powerful 425W Trina Solar Vertex S+ panel, which is also suitable for residential and commercial rooftops.
Trina subsequently introduced increasingly powerful Vertex S+ models, including a 475 W panel in 2025. In May 2026, it launched the Australian-exclusive Vertex S+ G3 range, ranging from 495-515 W, with efficiencies reaching 24.7%. These are dual glass panels, where the solar cells are sandwiched between two layers of tough glass. While they're glass on both sides, they are monofacial and only use light coming from one direction.
The Vertex S+ G3 warranty allows it to lose 1% of its original capacity in its first year and up to 0.35% in each subsequent year. This means it should have a minimum of 88.85% of its original rated output after 30 years.
To see further specifications on various Trina modules, check out SQ's solar panel comparison table.
Salt Mist Corrosion Resistance
Trina generally publishes salt-mist corrosion certificates for its panels that are typically installed on Australian roofs. Their Vertex S+ G3 panels have passed IEC 61701:2020 salt-mist testing method 6. Method 6 testing is harsh, so going by that, they should be suitable for installation near the sea. However, under Trina's current written warranty, when these panels and a number of other Trina models are installed within 2km of the coastline or near inland saltwater lakes, they require Trina's evaluation and approval for the manufacturer's warranty to apply. Installers should obtain written approval before installing these models.
Certifications for corrosion resistance can be found on Trina's download page.
Warranty Procedure For Orphaned Trina Customers
If your original installer has gone out of business, you can contact Trina Solar Australia if you need to make a warranty claim. You can phone them on 1300 874 627, email [email protected], or submit a claim through their online portal.
Note that you are always covered by Australian Consumer Guarantees, which provide considerably more protection than the Trina written warranty.
Trina Solar Panels Are A Good Choice
We have no problems recommending Trina solar panels as they offer a cost-effective combination of price and reliability. One reason we're happy to recommend them is that, when there have been issues in the past, Trina Solar has been generally quick to rectify them under warranty.
Trina was voted Australia's best-value solar panel brand by SolarQuotes installers for four consecutive years, from 2021 through 2024. It also finished second for after-sales support in 2024. The survey changed format in 2025, switching to a single question about which brand installers would choose for their own homes. Trina finished fifth overall in 2026.
The company's products are also popular with solar owners - see what some of them think in the reviews and ratings below (and if you're an owner, add your Trina solar panels review).
Trina has 3 solar panels in our database
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Trina Reviews (2880)
Show Most Relevant reviews from All time
- 5 star 2429
- 4 star 410
- 3 star 27
- 2 star 6
- 1 star 8
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15 September 2026
19 July 2026
26 March 2026
30 October 2025
System is producing as per Springer's quoted performanve estimates. First day that we could export to the grid (partly cloudy) the system: powered the home; fully charged the 27kWh battery system (that powers the home overnight) by 10.30am; and exported 32.5 kWh to the grid (I have all the records on the app for verification). Could have gone a bigger battery system (40 kWh). We also have a pre existing Solahart hot water system for energy effiency.
17 April 2025
05 April 2025
09 October 2024
19 May 2024
I got 16 Trina Vertex S 405W panels to replace my old 2009 Panasonic HIT 210W panels two years ago.
I monitor PV generation closely and these panels have performed to spec.in spite of Sydney's high rainfall.
One observation the Panasonics performed slightly better in low light conditions but the Trinas started sooner - lower starting voltage.
I will be moving to Queensland in about three months time and my new place will be fitted with 20 Trina Vertex S 425W panels. My recommendation.
27 January 2024
24 November 2023
I added a further 16 trina panels installed by Arise Solar in July. That was the result of poor design of my overall system given my energy uise and profile on which Arkana designed the originally installed system. The main issue was inadequate battery storage in their design.
I was very happy with the upgrade work undertaken by Arise Solar to both the panel array and battery stotage
05 November 2023
Like the inverter they get looked after, they get a hose off every couple of months to make sure there is no dust of bird droppings etc.
I have Solar Analytics and I’m at plus .01% on what they estimate the system should be producing over it’s 18 months life so far.
13 April 2023
The black on black panel also looks seriously good. And they fit together like a glove. Wildman Solar we’re also able to navigate antenna support cables and waste vents on the roof utilising 3 faces, to meet my need for number of panels.
The photos speak for themselves.
16 January 2023
Time will tell how the perform, but I'm fairly confident I will be happy for many years to come.
15 November 2022
Very happy. New N-type efficiency, awesome 30yr performance warranty, and just nice looking pannels too .. and at 415W each they maximised the potential space on my roof, giving me 10.375kW total array.
07 August 2022
12 December 2021
02 October 2021
27 September 2021
01 September 2021
29 April 2021
20 March 2021
24 February 2021
01 February 2021
05 November 2019
24 October 2019
30 September 2017
11 September 2017
11 July 2017
New panels have micro inverters so we can install batteries when price and quality improve.
We have 6.44kw total and power bill has reduced to couple of hundred dollars during warmer months.
Winter is much lower but will see later when next account comes in.
17 January 2017
07 September 2015
Average output in January 2015 35kWh per panel. Range 34 -36 kWh over 20 panels.
Average output in June 2015 15 kWh per panel. Range 13 - 16 kWh over 20 panels.
All panels are generating very close to average figure per day.
25 October 2026
10 September 2026
This is November.
6pm cloudy afternoon- 4.1kW produced
9.45am cloudy morning - 4.9kW
9.20am cloudy morning - 3.5kW
3.30pm sunny afternoon - 1.6kW
I have 6 east facing panels and 23 north and west facing panels. My initial fear is either the panels or the installation is questionable.
Update: Neither the panels or the installation was problematic. It was probably either the lack of information about the approval process by my energy distributor, or a problem with the settings of the system. Up to this day, I am still in the dark why the solar production wasn't up to par at that stage. I only know that in Dec I reached out to the installer, and they told me the distributor needed to run tests. After a few days of starts. stops and tests, they eventually said the testing by Ausnet was completed. The system seemed to be working normally from then on.
21 August 2026
I did not go with the three companies Solarquotes recommended as they were at least $2000.00 more expensive for the same system and product.
I ended up with IGreen energy as they gave excellent customer service and promptly installed the new system
I was very annoyed with the companies Solarquotes recommended and I did give feedback about that- they were just a rip off.
29 May 2026
30 January 2026
07 January 2026
20 December 2025
13 November 2025
12 October 2025
06 October 2025
30 September 2025
28 September 2025
12 September 2025
18 August 2025
12 May 2025
21 April 2025
15 March 2025
14 February 2025