Top 10 Solar Panels of 2020 - Comparing the Best Solar Panels!

hi folks this is one of my favorite topics comparing solar panels my name is Brad Stoler with Rayah Solar and welcome to the top 10 solar panels of 2020 now for those of you who don't know me again my name is Brad I've been working in the U.S. solar industry since 2011 prior to that I spent two years working in the industry in China so I have seen the manufacturing side of things I've seen the sales side of things the installation and the management perspective last year we went into an extensive breakdown of our methodology not much has changed this year we are still using 10 metrics to compare the panels everything from the aesthetics to the power output, to the efficiency, the three components of the warrant, which is performance product and labor as well as the cost for panel's value what we do is we compare each of those metrics on a scale of one to ten ten meeting is the best zero meaning it's not good at all then we add up the scores and that's how we determine our top ten we look at lots of different panels and sometimes we have more than one manufacturer in our top 10 I'm not gonna get too much into those details right now and how we compare things before we get into the top ten I just want to talk about some things that have changed in the industry this year to start historically especially in the residential market this video is really about residential solar panels it used to be that some power was by far the most powerful the most efficient but that's really changed this year this year we have three panels all competing within the same power class SunPower LG and Solaria, all in that 370 watt range and I'll get into that a little bit later another thing that's really important to note is the changes in warranties it used to be a quote unquote Tier one panel would have a twenty five year warranty with degradation rates around 1% and that's really changed this year we're seeing the average degradation rates about half of a percent now with 25 year life spans between 80 to 90 percent guaranteed by year 25 so that's a big difference in terms of movement in our top 10 we have seen some movement which is good I like to see other companies making some changes most notably some companies have moved down like SunPower which previously had multiple panels in our top 10 and LG Panasonic still very consistent and a few other panels have snuck into the top 10 this year so without further ado here we are the top 10 solar panels of 20 number 10 the 340 watt Hanwha Qcell so this is the they're all black panel and this is really a great panel we're really excited to see the Q cell in a top 10 this year they actually had panels at number 11 and 12 last year so they just barely didn't make it but this panel is quite unique for a lot of things as you can see here it's got a nice all black frame all black cells you will notice you can still see the silver lines on it at 340 watts that's a very reputable power amount one of the most interesting things about this panel is the six diodes so how do i baught Q cell which is a German manufacturer of solar back in 2012 and since then they've maintained some of the highest quality panels in the industry in fact so much so they're actually had a lot of patent disputes with some other companies who have evidently infringed on their patent rights one of those patents which I don't believe any other panel actually has most panels will have three dials so three sections so if you picture a panel in a vertical orientation so you have your portrait orientation you have your landscape orientation if you picture that most panels would have three sections one on the left middle and right this panel actually has six sections instead of just having the three sections it's got three on top and three on the bottom this is really unique and it has some benefits in shady conditions on cloudy days rainy days snowy days so it is a really neat feature in terms of its appearance it is a nice all-black definitely nicer than a black on white however like I said you can still see the silver lines and it's not quite as nice as some of the other All Blacks we're going to mention in our top 10 so if you're looking for a german-engineered great panel with six diodes at this rock-bottom price the Homme walk you sell may be a good fit for you our number panel is a 320 watt Silfab. Again this is another all-black panel we actually like the stacking a little bit better than the number 10 Q-Cell. You'll notice the Q cell I'm gonna show you a flash of both side by side has a silver line that goes across the middle where the Silfab doesn't have that so it's a little bit of a nice little boost the other thing we like about this panel is that most panels have a 25-year performance warranty this Silfab is the only panel with a 30-year performance warranty it's made in Canada so the art can actual Canadian company and if you have ever heard some of my other videos you've heard that some of these so-called Canadian companies aren't really manufacturing it not really Canadian products so the nice thing also about the Silfab is it if you're doing any government projects or if you need a product that's applicable with the buy American compliance act this Silfab panel is at 320 watts it is a little bit lower power output it actually is the lowest power output up of our Top 10, but still if you have a home you have plenty of roof space or plenty of space for a ground mount and you don't need the highest output solar panel but you want something in a really good price made by Canadian company then the Silfab panel may be right for you I can tell you a number of our installers and people who work here at Rayah Solar have this self a panel on their roof so we really believe in it. Number eight the Panasonic HIT there 325 watt all-black module. One of the first things you're probably going to like is the name Panasonic right Panasonic is a name brand electronics been around for a long time they have great reputation for just making great products. The HIT is one of the most efficient solar panels on this list. One knock we do have with the Panasonic HIT is a technology is a little bit older than some of his counterparts and when you look at the panel - even though this is all black it does look a bit dated I do kind of see with the silver lines which are the bus bars or the electricity travels they're more evident in the Panasonic but that doesn't mean that the Panasonic's not a gray panel in fact we have a lot of people who love Panasonic they love the name brand they love the price between Panasonic LG of those big-name brands especially of the electronics conglomerates it is the lowest price option. Number seven the SunPower 350 watt x-series panel. So here's thing, I love this SunPower panel it is absolutely beautiful panel made on the Maxion cell technology some of the best DC architecture in the world one of the highest efficiency panels in the world the only reason this panel didn't actually come in higher is this year SunSower lost some points for some disruptions within their company as many of you may know the company split manufacturing is now called Maxeon, that so that split is actually happening as we speak the other knock on this panel why it's not higher on the list is the price. it used to be that a Sun power panel was just that much more efficient and that much more powerful than the other panels but for all black we have a higher output LG and a higher output salario this year that are actually much much less expensive than this panel but in general if anyone's still looking for a really gorgeous premium brand panel made on what is arguably the world's longest lasting panel again with that Maxeon cell technology where they put the electrical conductors on the back of the cell. Aesthetically the difference between this panel on the Hanwha Q-Cell, and the Silfab I just showed you is that those panels and the Panasonic have that you have the conductors on the front so you can see the silver lines SunPower and all their panels puts their electrical conductors behind the active solar service this is one of their patents it really makes this panel an absolutely gorgeous looking panel so for anyone that is looking for a gorgeous all-black solar panel if you want on the front of your house you want that name-brand of a company that's been around since 1984 selling solar, then SunPower may be a really good choice for you especially if you don't mind paying a little bit of the premium for their product. Number six the LG Neon2 their 335 watt module this is their all-black panel now LG's got multiple panels in our top 10 one of the things I like to tell everyone about LG is as a company Rayah Solar, we've done hundreds of installation we have used lots of different products over the years but we've actually used more LG panels than all of the other panels combined and here's the thing I like to tell everyone we have never had one LG panel fail not one ever and that's pretty impressive this product still boasts the excellent LG warranty which is 25 years of performance, product and labor. I forgot to mention that the Panasonic does offer that too as well as some other brands on mention but that's that this whole idea of offering 25 years of product especially and labor that is really brand new that's a big change I was talking about in the beginning years ago companies did not offer that the average company would have a 10 year product warranty and no labor warranty so if this LG panel fails in your 16 even if it gets a crack on it maybe you're like a crap in your cell phone but it still functions see that would be considered a product warranty whereas if it stops working that's a performance warranty even if it gets a crack on it in your 16 they're still gonna replace it and they're gonna pay the labor cost for that solar company in terms of aesthetics this is definitely not as nice as the SunPower but it's to par I would say with the Silfab panel that we showed you earlier I think it's a little bit nicer than the Hanwha and a little bit nicer looking than the q cell but if price is your thing this is a little bit more expensive than the Panasonic so you know that's why there is no right or wrong a solar I'll get into that a little bit later but if you're looking for a panel that's got a great reputation that honestly just doesn't break just keeps on going then this LG all-black panel may be a really good fit for you. Number five the 350 watt LG Neon2 - this is a black on white panel this is gonna be the first panel we're gonna show that has a white back sheet you'll see it's got the little white diamond shapes and the white lines now those aren't conductors that's a white reflective back sheet so this is actually the same panel as the LG Neon2 335 watt all black except the white back sheet it reflects the light so it gives it a little bit more power again it's on that great LG Neon2 construction that's just been around for for over ten years it has really stood the test of time this is the same panel we've probably done more of these in any other panel this exact model with the white back sheet has really been a workhorse for us for years and we really believe in it it has that same 25 25 25 year warranty on it it's got high efficiency low degradation rates and it's less expensive this is the key thing it's less expensive than some of the other LG panels we're going to show you and of course it has two brand recognition of being in LG so this is sort of your LG panel at your at your bargain rate which is a really nice combination. Number for the 340 watt Panasonic HIT. Again this is another black on white panel very similar looking to the LG but again you can kind of see more silver lines in it I'd you know personally I don't like that about the Panasonic, but if aesthetics for many people when the panels are high in the roof or on the back they don't really care so if it doesn't matter to you and you like the Panasonic name and you want a panel that cost less it still has that brand name like a Panasonic this may be a really good panel for you the other thing which I would like to give a little award to for this panel this panel has the most efficient solar cells on this list right over 22.9% that's higher than some power higher than Solaria, LG all of them unfortunately the panel output the power output doesn't really match the other panels part of the reason for that is the HIT technology now this HIT technology is really cool what Panasonic did and when you hear this it may blow your mind they took a regular silicon cell wafer and they put a amorphous thin film solar cell above that on top of that so they layered the thin film solar with the regular silicon so together you get this boost of energy. Unfortunately as a whole panel 340 watts isn't bad, but it's not as high as some of the other panels in the top ten. Number 3, the 375 watt LG Prime! This is really a great panel LG borrowed the idea of putting the electrical conductors on the back of the active solar cell just like SunPower does and what this has done is it really creates a nice-looking solar panel now this panel does have the white back sheet and that's how LG gets up to three hundred and seventy five watts of our 2020 residential panels 375 watts is the highest power output you're gonna get from a standard sized solar panel I'm not gonna get much in this whole game that's going on the industry right now companies are making forward in watt panels but they're not telling you they're a foot bigger or wider for the sake of having side-by-side comparisons we only use standard sized solar panels for our top ten with that said we love the technology LG panels it's got the type n solar cells if the white background doesn't matter to you and again for many people it really doesn't matter and you want as much power as possible with the brand name recognition then the 375 what LG neon prime maybe your Optimus Prime. Number 2, another LG, this is a gorgeous panel it's a 360 watt LG Prime and it's all black it's really head-to-head comparison as good as you can get with a solar panel when it comes to aesthetics on top of that is it's all the bells and whistles of the latest LG prime technology that's got the LG twenty five year warranty for the performance product and labor it has a guaranteed degradation rate at year twenty five and ninety percent and again I have to say this is so pretty it'll make your knees buckle so this LG product is really for someone who's looking for the best looking product they can get with that LG brand recognition and watches much power the best looking panel they could possibly get so is this LG worth it well if the brand name is worth it to you then it is worth it. Number 1, the Solaria 370 watt PowerXT Solar panel. This solar panel is great. So we compare the panel's of course you know we look at all these different metrics this panel came in first place in five of our 10 metrics for aesthetics it was tied for first power output and many others I almost forgot to mention that they're a US company based out of California and this panel just has this really gorgeous sleek all-black look very comparable to the previous LG Prime some of the things we really liked about this Solaria panel were the patents 65 patents built into this panel notice that there's no silver lines on the front of it so what they do they have this shingle technology that's what they call it where they overlap the solar cells and that hides they hide the silver lines underneath those cells pretty smart. And of the all black panels we have it's more powerful than the other all-black panels the LG was at 360, SunPower at 350 and Panasonic was down all the way at 325 watts for it all black. And again that white back sheet that some of the others used like the LG Prime during a 375 watt they use a white back sheet that reflective material to get more power but for an all-black panel this is the most powerful panel on the market one of the other things you'll see on this panel is that this actual wafers are bigger so a typical solar wafer is about this big you can see the wafers are substantially bigger in this solar panel it gives it a nice cohesive look we really like the way it looks rather than having the individual cells it also that means that there's fewer gaps between the cells because you notice those little diamond shapes all the other solar panels that we showed you every single one have those diamond shapes between the individual solar cells by making these larger wafers you can get more power in the same square-foot solar panels to have less dead space when we saw that we said well why doesn't everyone else do that and then of course there's a reason is because they patented that technology the other thing we like about the Solaria, is the price it's cheaper than the SunPower cheaper than the LG that all the LG models and it still gives you that premium quality. So as this gorgeous brunette the right solar panel for your home? It's got the power, it's got the looks, it's got the value, it's really funny well perhaps that's not a characteristic of a solar panel but perhaps this 370 watt Solaria PowerXT solar panel is meant to be your solar mate now that ultimately is your choice but this is what we do know the Solaria 370 watt PowerXT all black panel you are worthy to hold the crown of the number one solar panel of 2020. ow we've given you our top 10 list and when people shop for panels they always want to know what's the right panel for me I want to tell you a story we did a project we had two brothers both living in the same town and they both ended up getting different solar panels in different financing you see there is no right or wrong they both throw different cars and they both have different cell phones different different televisions just like you and your neighbors don't have the same televisions and in cars is a BMW a better car for you then a Ford f-150 well right it depends on what you want it what you need the same thing is true for solar and there is an argument that the best panel is just the cheapest panel right well what cell phone do you have in your pocket do you have the cheapest solar cell phone in the world what we found is that when most people are shopping for solar they liked things like aesthetics things like the company things like the warranty they've really mattered to them people don't always want the cheapest panel but something some people do that's why options like a Hanwha QCell and Silfab are so great for some people but other people they need the brand recognition of an LG or Panasonic while others want all the bells and whistles you know what the quality and the patents of a Solaria 370 watt panel there is no right and there is no wrong there's what makes sense for you our goal is to give you an unbiased opinion on what solar panels are out there explain the differences in these products and hopefully give you enough information to make a decision now in the end you you may still need help but that's why you have us the solar professionals to consult with us and talk to us about what your needs are what you're looking for what your budget is and we can help you choose the right panel for you so I hope you've enjoyed this list of the top 10 solar panels of 2020 I hope this gives you a little taste but we like to call the raya experience and with hope and sincerity this is Brad

Channel: Rayah Solar

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Keywords: Top 10 Solar Panels of 2020, LG solar, SunPower, Solaria, Hanwha Q-Cell, Silfab, Solar Panel Warranty, Compare Solar Panels, Best Solar Panels, Best Solar Panels for House, Best Solar Panels for Home, Residential Solar Panels, Tesla Solar, Tesla, EV Charger, Home Energy, Panasonic HIT, Solaria PowerXT, Panasonic HIT Solar Panel, powerwall, REC Solar, Home Efficiency, Jinko, solar panels, solar power, solar, solar electricity, DIY solar, solar panel reviews, solar panel comarison

Id: rHg5phufWv4

Length: 19min 43sec (1183 seconds)

Published: Mon Jun 22 2020