SolarQuotes Trusted Panel, Inverter & Battery Brands

The following tables have been created to provide Australian solar buyers a more in-depth understanding of how and why we have placed particular solar panel, inverter and battery brands on our trusted solar brands charts.

The main criteria that qualifies a brand to be placed on our chart is:

• Has an Australian office for warranty support.  (Some EV chargers are an exception, see notes below EV charger chart.)
• Has straightforward and easy-to-navigate phone/email support for warranty issues
• Has a good reputation in the industry
• Has not been flagged by the CEC for any major violations

We have researched all of the brands on our charts in detail, with their qualifications for each of the criterion listed on the tables below.

Trusted solar panel brands criteria:

Manufacturer Name

Manufacturer Name	Canadian Solar	Hyundai	JA Solar	JinkoSolar	Longi	Phono	REC	Risen	SolarEdge	SunPower (Maxeon)	Suntech	Tindo	Trina	Winaico
Manufacturer Logo
Australian office for warranty claims?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Easily accessible via phone/email?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
What is their contact phone, email or website for warranty claims?	03 8609 1844	[email protected]	02 8912 2165	02 9057 1174	02 8484 5806	02 8114 4516	03 9020 2056	03 9021 7788	[email protected]	1800 786 769	02 8188 2450	1300 846 367	1300 874 627	02 8091 2771
Had no serious issues with the CEC?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Industry reputation	Good budget	Good budget	Good budget	Good budget	Good budget	Good budget	Premium	Good budget	Premium	Premium	Good budget	Premium - rare	Good budget	Premium - rare
Notes	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	SolarEdge panels are rebadged from an OEM	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD
Modern slavery statement or forced labour policies?	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.
More information on brand	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here

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What about “Tier 1” panels?

“Tier 1” is not a main qualifying criteria for our trusted solar panel chart, because while “Tier 1” status is a proxy for quality, there are quite a few “Tier 1” brands that we wouldn’t personally have on our own roofs – and there are also a few non-“Tier 1” brands that we would be more than happy to have on our own roofs.

Trusted solar inverter brands criteria:

Manufacturer Name

Manufacturer Name	Delta	Enphase	FIMER	Fronius	GE	Goodwe Goodwe GE Solar	iStore	MIL-Solar	SMA	SolarEdge	Solis	Sungrow	Sunways
Manufacturer Logo
Australian office for warranty claims?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Easily accessible via phone/email?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅ - PowerUp website	✅	✅	✅	✅
What is their contact phone, email or website for warranty claims?	1300 335 823	03 8669 1679	1800 769 663	03 8340 2900	03 7009 7821	[email protected]	1300 851 985	03 9325 3455	PowerUp Partners assist with warranty claim process	1800 465 567	03 8555 9516	1800 786 476	02 8188 2450
Had no serious issues with the CEC?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Industry reputation	Good mid-range/premium	Premium	Good budget/mid-range	Premium	Midrange	Good budget	Good budget/mid-range	Premium	Premium	Premium	Good budget	Good budget	Good budget/mid-range
Notes	TBD	Microinverters	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	Made in Australia	TBD	Optimisers	None	TBD	Sister company of Suntech (panel manufacturer)
Modern slavery statement or forced labour policies?	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	TBD	N/A - Australian factory	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Under development as at September 2022
More information on brand	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here

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Trusted home battery brands criteria:

Product Name

Product Name	BYD	GenZ	iStore	PowerPlus Energy	Pylontech	SolarEdge	Sungrow	Tesla
Manufacturer Logo
Australian office for warranty claims?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Easily accessible via phone/email?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
What is their contact phone, email or website for warranty claims?	[email protected] / 02 8005 6688	[email protected]	1300 851 985	03 8797 5557	02 9519 1200	Here	1800 786 476	1800 294 431
Had no serious issues with the CEC?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Industry reputation	Midrange	Midrange	Midrange	Midrange	Midrange	Premium end	Solid budget	Premium
Notes	Alps Power is Australian BYD BBOX service partner	TBD	Solar team handles battery warranty claims	TBD	TBD	Customers should lodge support ticket through SolarEdge portal	TBD	TBD
Modern slavery statement or forced labour policies?	Yes, here.	Yes, here	TBD	Yes, here.	Yes, here	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.
More information on brand	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here

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Trusted EV charger brands criteria:

Product Name

Product Name	ABB	Delta	Evnex	FIMER	Fronius	KEBA	Ocular	Tesla	Wallbox
Manufacturer Logo
Australian office for warranty claims?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	No*	✅	✅	No*
Easily accessible via phone/email?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	Depends on distributor
What is their contact phone, email or website for warranty claims?	[email protected]	[email protected]	[email protected]	1800 769 663	[email protected]	[email protected]	[email protected]	1800 294 431	Depends on distributor
Had no serious issues with the CEC?	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅
Industry reputation	Midrange	Premium	Premium	Midrange	Premium	Premium	Both budget and premium options	Premium	Midrange
Notes	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	TBD	KEBA have advised that EVSE is importer - handles warranty	TBD	TBD	Multiple authorised sales channels in Australia - warranty ultimately lies with whoever you bought it from.
Modern slavery statement or forced labour policies?	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Under development as of September 2023	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	No response from manufacturer.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.	Yes, here.
More information on brand	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here	Here

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* While SolarQuotes only recommends panel, battery and inverter brands with a physical Australian office for handling warranty claims, we’re approaching EV chargers a little differently at this point. 

Currently, EV chargers generally aren’t purchased as part of a solar or battery system. They are most often bought from a local supplier/vendor and then arrangements are made with an electrician for installation. The purchaser/electrician is supported by the charger manufacturer, which may not have an office in Australia yet.

Given EV chargers are a relatively new item available in Australia and the volume of sales are still comparatively low, we felt it unfair to penalise what are proving to be good brands by not including them on the chart based on this aspect alone.

However, we advise buying an EV charger from whoever is going to install it where possible. If warranty issues arise, that will be the party responsible for pursuing the claim and performing the fix/replacement. Having this single point can cut down on warranty-related headaches!

Modern Slavery Issues

In August 2022, we began seeking modern slavery and forced labour related information from solar brands I currently recommend and/or list on SQ’s very popular comparison tables.

This audit activity will be ongoing. In cases where “failed to respond” is mentioned above, it may be that the company does have policies. But the firm’s help desk may not have forwarded on our request for information to the person or persons responsible for communicating it.

Also note there hasn’t been in-depth analysis of each policy/statement where available; but we’ve provided links to those documents.

As for our own commitment on this important issue, you can view the SolarQuotes Modern Slavery Policy here.

If you have any questions, please feel free to send us an email here.