Finn's Winaico Panels Review & Verdict
Finn Peacock has been a Chartered Electrical Engineer since 1998, and is ex-CSIRO
Winaico is a Taiwanese company that manufactures in China. Their panels perform well under Australian conditions. They come with product and performance warranties of up to 30 years. Two things I love about Winaico panels:
1. You get two years free insurance covering almost any damage.
2. Their small Australian team are well embedded in the local scene and are easily approached. In fact, if you have a problem with them (unlikely), shoot me a message and I'll contact Blair, the Winaico boss man, and ask him to intervene!
(I chose Winaico panels for my rental unit. 6.6 kW East/West. They are still going strong after 6 years.)
Winaico Panels: Pros & Cons
- Good track record of reliability under Australian conditions
- High efficiency of up to 23%
- Residential panels have 30 year product and performance warranties
- 2 years free insurance
- Not yet known with certainty if the reliability of their panels remains high after the change to Chinese production
About Winaico
Founded in 2008, Winaico is a Taiwanese company that sells bifacial solar panels. They used to manufacture in Taiwan but now their panels are made in China. Their residential ones have product and performance warranties of 30 years. They're also the only manufacturer that provides insurance covering everything from hail damage to emus kicking in your panels. It's only 2 years, but it's free and can be extended to 5 years for a fee.
The company has had a physical local presence here since 2012 - a very handy thing for tech support and warranty issues. Winaico's Australian office is in Sydney.
Winaico Reliability
Winaico says only 0.01% of their panels installed in Australia have had a warranty claim made against them. That's one in 10,000 panels. This doesn't mean the chance of a panel failing over the course of a 30 year warranty is only 1 in 10,000, but even if the actual failure rate is five times as high, those are still excellent odds.
All Bifacial
All of Winaico's panels are bifacial. This means they have glass on the front and back and can make use of light hitting either side. When mounted in angled racks this can increase generation. But for rooftop solar the panels are normally only cm above the roof, so very little light can get in from the sides. This means they'll provide little or no benefit. But there's no harm in using them -- there just won't be any noticeable increase in output.
Winaico Residential Panels
At the time of writing in September 2024, Winaico has three residential panels available, but they say they have another coming soon. The main difference between residential panels and ones aimed at commercial and utility installation is size. Winaico's residential panels are 1.72m x 1.13m while their others are much longer. Because their residential panels are the ones most likely to go on Australian roofs, I'll give details on them below.
On the Winaico Australian website, they include a 2.09m long panel in both their residential and commercial categories, but I'll stick to giving information on their 1.72m long ones.
High Efficiency
The capacity of Winaico residential panels ranges from 435-450W and their efficiencies range from 22.5% to 23%. Currently, I consider anything over 22% to be high efficiency.
The more efficient a panel is, the more energy it can generate from a limited amount of space. If you have more roof space than the solar system you want requires, then efficiency isn't an important consideration. (But you may want to consider getting a larger solar system.)
Typical Heat Tolerance
Heat reduces solar panel efficiency. The output of Winaico residential panels declines by 0.3% for every 1°C panel temperature exceeds 25°C. Many modern panels suffer similar losses, so this is typical.
Can Handle Minor Shading
Page 10 of the Winaico Installation Manual says:
"The mounting site should be as free as possible from shade of any kind."
It goes on to say...
"A module is regarded as free of shade if the entire surface is free of shade throughout the year, and with unhindered exposure to sunlight over a period of several hours per day, even on the most unfavourable days of the year."
This means the panels are suitable for installation where they will suffer from minor shading early and/or late in the day, making them suitable for most roofs. This is superior to some panels which prohibit any shading at all.
At Least 15° Tilt Recommended
Winaico recommends a panel tilt of at least 15 degrees so rain will effectively clean them. Most Australian roofs have slopes of either 15° or 22.5°, so this normally won't be a problem. Winaico allows panels at an angle less than this provided they're regularly cleaned.
Performance Warranty
Winaico residential panels have a 30 year performance warranty which promises that -- in relation to their original rating -- their output will degrade by no more than 1% in their first year and no more than 0.4% each subsequent year. So after 25 years they will have a minimum of 89.4% of their original capacity and at 30 years they'll have at least 87.4%. This is a low rate of permitted degradation, but isn't exceptional for modern performance warranties. But the 30 year period is longer than the 25 years many panels have.
Product Warranty
Winaico residential panels have a 30 year product warranty that protects against defects in materials and construction. This is longer than the 25 years that many panels now have and twice as long as the 15 years of some panels.
2 Years Free Insurance
Winaico is the only company I know that provides their panels with free insurance protecting against damage, loss of generation, and loss of income. It lasts for two years, but if you are willing to pay you can extend it to 5. Just some of the types of damage it covers are:
- Hail
- lightning
- Flooding
- Theft
- Accidents
- Gnawing, pecking, and biting
One thing it doesn't cover is damage from "nuclear power". But I don't know if that's the sort that raises electricity bills or levels cities.
You can also receive limited compensation for loss of output.
Warranty Claim Procedure For Orphaned Customers
If you have an issue with your Winaico panels you should contact your installer first. But if they've gone out of business, Winaico becomes responsible for handling warranty claims. Their contact number is 02 8091 2771 - and they have advised they have a network of installers that can handle the process from start to finish.
In addition to Winaico's warranties, you are also protected by Australian consumer law and Winaico has stated they understand and respect Australian consumer protections.
My Recommendation
Winaico panels have demonstrated reliability under Australian conditions and have a low failure rate. The 30 year product and performance warranties of their residential panels provide extensive protection, and they also have 2 years free insurance covering most types of damage. For these reasons, we have no problem including Winaico panels among the ones we recommend.
Find out how Australians with these panels are faring in the reviews below - and if you're an owner of these modules, please feel free to add your own Winaico solar panels review.
Winaico has 1 solar panel in our database
Filter by:
Winaico Reviews (216)
Show Most Relevant reviews from All time
- 5 star 180
- 4 star 36
- 3 star 0
- 2 star 0
- 1 star 0
View Timeline
23 October 2019
26 April 2024
22 July 2023
(The system is just over 12KW but that option was not available in selecting the system size above)
08 November 2022
18 October 2022
24 July 2021
On previous occasions with a low angle sun, I estimated a 20% increase. The effect of dirty panels was less affected with a high sun.
To allow for maximum solar during the whole day, the 6.6Kw system has 8 panel on the eastern roof and 12 panels on the western roof. This configuration provides for a flatter more useful overall energy use.
Note that the 4.6 Kw system in on the northern roof.
30 March 2021
05 September 2020
12 March 2020
21 October 2019
08 August 2018
29 May 2018
PV was good during spring / summer not so much now (obviously) but would like to be able to verify they aren't in any way dirty (dirt, bird or bat poop etc)
03 November 2017
11 October 2017
19 November 2024
01 October 2024
01 September 2024
31 August 2024
08 July 2024
12 June 2024
21 May 2024
12 May 2024
06 May 2024
06 April 2024
28 February 2024
27 February 2024
30 November 2023
04 October 2023
60 x Winaico wst-400mgx-p3 gemini, Black version 400W each for a total of 24KW.
These are installed in a Hybrid system on a Tiled Federation style house with a rectangular roof.
20KW facing North and 4KW facing EAST plus another 4KW facing North.
Maximum peak has been at 21+KW due to a very restrictive export limitation of only 2.3KW. The batteries are close to fully charged well before we have reached PEAK Zenit and as such, demand + export, even with the EV charging at 7KW is well below of what they are capable of.
So far the panels are performing to and even above expectation. This is coming from a User that has been using solar for about 20 years now.
The black panels look very unobtrusive and suit the roof really well.
If you are looking at a higher quality solar installation and are willing to pay a little bit more....then these panels should go on your short list.