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14 May
Solar Panels

How To Choose The Best Solar Panels

How To Choose The Best Solar Panels

Investing in a Solar Power System a long term decision, so, of course, it’s a decision you want to be certain to choose the right Solar Panels for you, in order to achieve maximum payback as soon as possible. Selecting the best solar panels for your system, is of paramount importance, because the solar energy generated by the Panels, over the life of the system will determine how quickly you see that return on investment.

 

With over 500 different brands in the Australian marketplace who are all claiming to be the best,  it becomes difficult to make an objective decision.

The first thing you need to understand is that when a Brand claims how well their Panels ‘perform’ and provide performance statistics and figures, these are all achieved and rated in perfect ‘blue sky, peak angle’ conditions. Any poor quality panels will experience a dramatic drop off in said ‘performance’ under ‘marginal-grey sky or poor angle’ conditions. So be sure to ask for performance statistics under these conditions too. If these cannot be produced or the salesmen seem reluctant to provide them, stay away.

“No name brand” panels may also seem like a good idea, price wise – especially when accompanied by a “Unbeatable warranty”, but could use poor quality sealants that will do the job for the first couple of years, but then after that degrade to a point moisture enters the panel – and there is no easy fix for that situation. So be sure to ask whether their Solar Panel warranty covers this situation and if not, proceed with caution. In fact, find out exactly what their “Unbeatable Warranty” does cover so you can be sure you’re covered in the most obvious situations.

 

Like any manufactured product, not all solar panels are created equal. Some use the absolute best materials and equipment to manufacture them and others do not. Some Brands conduct extensive research and development into long-term performance of their Panels and have deep understanding of how the materials will behave, and other Brands do not, their only concern is getting the panels out as cheap as possible, without concern over the longevity of the panels they sell.

However, it’s not easy to tell the differences simply by looking at a solar panel. The real quality of a solar panel is in its long-term & multi-condition performance.

Solar panels spend their entire life in the blazing sun, freezing rain and many other incredibly harsh environments for any material, let alone a composition of different ones bonded together. Solar Panels are made up of chemically treated glass, chemically treated silicon cells, various plastics, aluminium, sealants and interconnecting wiring. Under such conditions, materials can – and do – chemically change over time reacting with each other and creating new chemicals and compounds as the age. Their elasticity also changes over their life affecting the stresses and tensions they place on each other.

 

Typically, manufacturers and Brands who understand these issues well will have accreditation to ISO standards. They will have a well-funded Research & Development aspect to their business and they won’t shy away from the tough questions. As a start why not check out our Solar Panels, all have been accredited to ISO standards and we are proud to be selling only the Brands we know will stand the test of time.

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