Tier 1? That’s a good solar panel, let’s talk about it
June 4, 2020
Investing in a solar-powered system is quite an investment. Whether used to power your home, office, or water pumping system, the overall cost of your solar system will be significant. Fortunately, the up-side with investing in one greatly makes-up for the expenses incurred! When you install a solar system on your property, you save money on your electricity bills and protect yourself against rising electricity rates in the future. In locations where grid power is unreliable, or completely unavailable, your solar system gives you the security of always having power in your home to meet your needs. Essentially, going solar is a smart investment regardless of where you live.
One of the most important components of a solar system are the solar panels/modules. This week we had a long-time client, let’s call him Mr. Moyo, come to the Samansco offices quite upset. He was upset because his ARCO batteries, which he bought a year ago, were not giving him the deep cycles and recharge profile he had known them for. We followed procedure and checked his batteries for faults, as expected, our ARCO batteries had no faults in them. We discovered the root of Mr. Moyo’s problems were the faulty solar panels he had bought somewhere on a “bargain” and had been using with the batteries. The faulty panels were not giving his batteries enough charge, which negatively affected their performance. Mr. Moyo went through what a lot of clients go through in our field, not knowing what exactly is a good solar panel. So let’s talk about it.
Solar panels come in different varieties; you will most likely encounter crystalline panels, specifically mono crystalline and poly crystalline solar panels. Saying which type is better depends on how you would define “better.” Poly crystalline solar panels tend to have slightly lower heat tolerance than mono crystalline solar panels, someone living in an extremely hot climate may therefore view mono crystalline panels as a better option. At Samansco, our prime focus is the panel’s performance and efficiency. This is the criteria we use as a measurement of quality on our solar panels.
Trina solar is one of the larger partner brands of Samansco. A market leader in solar panel manufacturing, they are considered a Tier 1 solar panel brand! We enjoy working with them because they take pride in manufacturing high performance solar panels. Recently they were able to achieve a new efficiency record of 25% in their solar cells which is an incredible feat worth mentioning!
You may now be wondering, “what is a Tier 1 solar panel?” The Tier 1 ranking is orchestrated by Bloomberg New Energy Finance Corporation, and is used to rank solar panel manufacturers in terms of their bankability or financial stability. Only brands that manufacture their own solar panels are considered for Tier 1 review. So how does this factor into quality you ask?
- A bank would not fund a large project worth millions of dollars if the product used was likely to fail in the short-term, as a result, a Tier 1 solar panel is a high-quality panel.
- A Tier 1 panel is a solar panel that is designed to produce power for as long as the expected lifespan, which is around 25 years. Once again; banks will not finance a product that cannot live up to it’s expected life-span as that would become a liability on their part.
- A solar company that invests in their own manufacturing is also investing into research and development of their product because they want their product to be better than competitors.
Manufacturing processes involve strict quality control procedures to ensure product matches the brand’s message of quality and efficiency.
In summary, buy your solar panels from a trusted and reputable supplier, such as Samansco! Different variants of solar panel (mono or poly crystalline) will suit your application depending on your location and requirements. If efficiency is what you require, make that your benchmark for quality and reliability. Tier 1 solar panels are proven and certified; Trina Solar is available and ready for you to order and collect from Samansco so get your quotation today.
Sources
