What are Tier 1 Solar Panels

What Are Tier 1 Solar Panels and What Do You Need to Know About Them?

Have you come across the term ‘tier 1 solar panel’ and wondered what it meant? Are you researching solar energy and wondered if tier 1 meant the best or had advantages over standard panels?

If so, you’re not alone. The Sunstore Solar team has fielded lots of questions around tier 1 solar panels over the past couple of months.

Here is everything you need to know about tier 1 solar panels.

What are tier 1 solar panels?

First, it’s important to clarify that the term is a little misleading.

There is no such thing as a tier 1 solar panel.

The term actually refers to the manufacturer of the panel, so should more correctly be described as ‘tier 1 solar panel manufacturer’.

What are tier 1 solar panel manufacturers then?

Tier 1 solar panel manufacturers are those mentioned in the Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) report published each month.

The report isn’t for consumers. It’s for banks and financiers looking to invest in projects that include solar energy.

It is designed to help investors assess the quality of the solar equipment used in those projects as part of the risk assessment process.

If an investor is performing due diligence on a property or development project that includes solar, they will want to know who is manufacturing the equipment. Hence the report.

Even though the tier system isn’t for consumers, we can use it to assess the quality of the manufacturer and the product.

To be regarded as a tier 1 solar panel manufacturer, a company needs to manufacture their own solar panels rather than outsource production.

That includes all components, silicon, frames and electronics.

The company needs to have been doing it for at least 5 years and have a proven history of delivering quality.

The panels also must be of the highest standard. They must use the best grade of materials, especially silicon and use automated manufacturing processes to ensure quality.

There is also a requirement for research and development of products to qualify for tier 1. A company needs to dedicate significant resources to developing products, improving quality and efficiency while also making production more sustainable.

Some tier 1 solar panel manufacturers include LG, JA Solar, Jinko, LONGi, SunPower, Panasonic and Trina.

What else does Bloomberg look for in a tier 1 solar panel manufacturer?

So far, what Bloomberg looks for in a tier 1 solar panel manufacturer and what we look for align.

However, Bloomberg also looks for other characteristics not relevant to consumers.

Those characteristics can include:

• Funded by 6 or more investors with projects exceeding 1.5MWp in the previous two years
• Companies that are publicly traded or well-funded
• Strong vertical integration including R&D, components and manufacturing
• Invest extensively in marketing and promotion

These are all good signs of a quality manufacturer but have far less bearing on the end user.

Tiered solar panel production

As well as tier 1 solar panel manufacturers, there are also tier 2 and 3 manufacturers.

Only tier 1 is the ‘official’ tier but tiers 2 and 3 quickly evolved as a result of the new grading system.

Tier 1 is at the top of the tree while tiers 2 and 3 are in descending order.

Tier 2 solar panels

Tier 2 uses less automation and more manual processes in manufacturing. The materials may be slightly inferior compared to tier 1 but still deliver high efficiency.

The company will invest moderately in research and development, but typically not as much as a tier 1 manufacturer.

They are the middle ground for solar panels and will often offer similar warranties.

Tier 2 manufacturers include RenewSys Solar, Luxor Solar and Axitec Solar.

Tier 3 solar panels

Tier 3 manufacturers will often assemble components produced by other companies. They often assemble panels rather than manufacture them and will have less control over quality.

Tier 3 tends to use manual production lines with some automated processes and will not invest as much in research and development.

Tier 3 solar panel manufacturers include Tanfon Solar, Dongson Solar and Lovsun Solar.

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Tier 1, 2 and 3 solar panel manufacturers

To make it a little easier to understand, we created this simple table to help differentiate a tier 1 solar panel manufacturer from a tier 2 or 3.

Benefits of tier 1 solar panels

The main benefit of tier 1 solar panels is the quality. To be regarded as a tier 1 manufacturer, the company must have experience, use the highest quality materials and automated production lines.

This typically results in higher quality, more efficiency and lower chances of malfunction. All things that make a company or project using the company’s products worthy of investment.

Also things that benefit us as end users.

This comes at a cost of course, but one that can deliver a reliable return and perhaps even a little profit.

Quality is always worth paying a little extra for. Quality returns on your investment with better efficiency, more reliability, ease of use and a better ownership experience.

When that quality could be powering your home for the next 25 years, it’s an investment well worth making!

The impact of quality on solar panels

Like most products, quality can impact every aspect of the ownership experience.

For solar panels in particular, quality influences the overall efficiency of the panel, the build quality, the interoperability between components and their operating life.

Higher quality silicon produces higher efficiency solar panels. Voltage can travel more freely across the panel and less is lost during the collection process.

Automated manufacture is about as precise as it gets right now. It eliminates human error, reduces imperfections and delivers a higher quality product faster.

Better build quality means the panel should be able to deliver that increased efficiency over a much longer period. You’ll see less degradation of components and will require less maintenance.

As a tier 1 solar panel manufacturer makes all components within the panel, everything should work seamlessly together. There should be no inefficiencies or incompatibilities introduced by using third-party components for example.

All these aspects combine to deliver an efficient solar panel with a long operating life. Tier 1 manufacturers tend to guarantee panels for a minimum of 12 years with an expectation of at least 25 years operating life.

That’s enough time to see a return on your investment and to generate lots of clean, renewable energy for your home.

Are tier 1 solar panels worth the expense?

If money is not a limiting factor, we would say tier 1 solar panels are definitely worth the expense.

They are a critical element of going off-grid or providing energy security for your family, which is well worth the investment.

As you have seen, tier 1 solar panels are the highest quality available right now. While the term wasn’t designed for consumers, it’s clear that some characteristics that make a project using a tier 1 manufacturer worth investing in, also work for us.

If you want to invest in the highest quality, highest efficiency solar panels with enviable operating life, we would definitely suggest investing in tier 1 solar panels!

Talk to one of the Sunstore Solar team to discuss your needs.