In a fairly large market with lots of brands and with massive competition from new brands, it can be difficult to tell which brands of solar panels are the most trusted and by far are the most secure investment. SolarKobo helps its clients make the best possible choice of solar panel brands. We stock and encourage buyers to buy the best brands. When helping our clients make the best choices, these are the parameters that we use to differentiate superior brands.
Warranties
A warranty is in some ways a measure of the quality of the solar panel. It is an expression of the faith of the manufacturer in their product. A comprehensive warranty lasting years, even decades, not only gives customers confidence, but it shows the confidence the manufacturers have in their product. A company producing unreliable and shoddy equipment would not be able to offer a 25-year warranty on its products.
When choosing on the basis of warranty, there are two main warranty offers from manufacturers that we take into consideration. The first is the product warranty or the equipment guarantee. This guarantees your panels from defects in material or workmanship issues during the manufacturing process. The second is the linear performance warranty. This is a guarantee from the manufacturer that your panels will stay above a specified degradation rate over a certain period of time. For example, a manufacturer may guarantee that their solar panels won’t degrade more than 20% after 30 years of use, so their solar panels will still be producing 80% of the power at year 30 as they did on day one.
Efficiency
The efficiency of a solar panel module is a measure of how much the solar cells that make up the module is able to perform its task of converting incident sunlight into electricity. By extension, the efficiency of a solar panel is a measure of the productivity of its solar cells. Opting for more efficient panels could, in some cases, mean needing fewer panels and lesser space. This could be important if there are concerns about space. Most in the industry consider 18%+ high-efficiency panels. This chart from Clean Energy Review (updated July 2020) rates the efficiency of panel brands in descending order.
Price
The price of the solar panels will be a factor for probably 99% of people looking to go solar. While more efficient, higher-quality panels will certainly cost more, they may save you more in the long run.
Manufacturer's Profile
A company's history and trading experience speaks volumes about their products. In some cases, this might be a consideration of significance. Some of the things to look out for in a manufacturer's profile include:
Are they publicly listed?
If yes, for how long have they been so?
How long has the company been in business?
Do they have a global reach?
Do they have other products of significant repute?
Do they have a local office and/or authorised dealers and distributors. This is valuable when considering after-market service and potential warranty claims.
Does the Brand Have Other Reputable Products?
Another consideration is do the brand have other successful and reputable products? In the case of solar modules, as most manufacturers of inverters and batteries also make solar panels, if a brand is successful in one product, it can be expected to be in its other products. Some brands that make reputable inverter and battery brands also have solar panel offerings.
Reputable Brands Supported In Nigeria Include the Following:
LG, Trina Solar, Era Solar, Mitsubishi, Panasonic, Canadian Solar, Sunshine, Prag, A&E Dunamis, Ultron, Luxen, REC Solar, Sularia, Solar World, Longi Solar, Roy Solar, Fronius, Schneider, SMA, Suntech, Yingli, Q Cells, JA Solar, Huawei and Solar Edge.
An investment in any of these brands can be considered safe and secure. SolarKobo has experienced engineers, years of experience with solar panels and a significant knowledge of the market and helps its clients make the best choices in solar products.