Not All Solar Panels are Created Equal!
When comparing brands and models on the market, there are a few main points that are easy to compare, such as:
- Wattage
- Product Defect Warranty
- Performance Warranty
- Country of Manufacture
- Output Tolerance
- Dimensions and Weight
And if you want to dig a little deeper there are more specific points like:
- Rear Wind Loading Resistance
- Temperature Coefficients (Power, Voltage, Current)
That may help you determine which solar panel is the best.
But perhaps the most important factor that is not easy to identify or compare is the yield.
What is Yield?
Yield can be described as the amount of energy (in kWh) that your solar system will produce every single day.
The accepted Queensland yield, in terms of kWh/kW installed, is 4.2. This means that on average a 6kW system should produce 25.2kWh per day.
However it is not possible to assume that all solar systems will produce this amount of energy, in fact there can be quite a difference between the highest and the lowest.
Our Test Setup
We’d like to think we are very thorough here at Energy Base, and at the forefront of innovation and integrity in the industry, so we decided to setup a test system to demonstrate which solar panel has the highest yield.
We took 6 different solar panels, and installed 2 of each on our warehouse roof. One row of 6 was on tilt frames pointing north, and the other 6 was flush mounted pointing just a little to the south.
This smaller test (tilts vs flush) will allow us test the difference in performance based on tilt angle and the cooling effect of the panel lifted up on tilts vs the normal way laying on the roof.
The solar panels we are testing are:
- Jinko 275W (poly)
- Phono 275W (poly)
- REC 295W (poly)
- Jinko 300W (mono PERC)
- Sunpower 325W (poly)
- LG Neon2 330W (N-type mono)
We’ve used Tigo Optimisers to track and visualize the solar energy harvested.
The data has only just started coming in, we will accumulate and then analyse the data over the coming months:
Hopefully this short explanation on yield has shown you that not all solar panels are created equal, and there is a definite advantage in investing in the highest yielding solar panel available.
Remember, the extra solar energy generated means more savings and more earnings in your pocket, year after year after year.
If you would like to know more about the test results, get in contact with us.
