The beachside can be a hostile environment. The salt gusting in from the sea plays havoc with the inferior metal and components of cheap solar panels. It’s the same reason your home probably needs a lick of paint more frequently. Essentially, the companies that make inferior solar panels have no confidence their product can take the punishment.

If you live a little further from the beach, the story isn’t quite as bad, but it’s still not great.

Taking away the “beach ban”, almost all solar panels come with some kind of “warranty”, even the cheapest, nastiest ones. We have consumer laws to make sure of that. But if you check closely you’ll notice the warranty probably only covers parts – and occasionally the freight to get it to you.

When it comes to the labour to take down the faulty panel, replace and then legally dispose of it, those costs are your responsibility. If they’re still around, the company that sold you the panels may do the right thing, but they’re not under any obligation. To put that into perspective, over 1,000 solar installers closed their doors in Australia in the last decade.

Only SunPower solar panels “No Worries Warranty” covers the lot, wherever you live:

• Panel replacement – 25 years
• Freight – 25 years
• Labour – 25 years
• Disposal – 25 years.

And remember, this is a manufacturer’s warranty, backed by a stable and respected company. SunPower panels are manufactured by Maxeon whose majority shareholder is Total - the French Oil and Gas conglomerate, and 10th largest company in the world. SunPower pays for the cost of panel replacement, freight, labour and disposal. So, even if your solar installer is not around, you are still covered.

The length of a warranty is a pretty good indication of how long the manufacturer expects their product to last. It’s natural that cheap solar panels will have a short, parts-only, warranty, because of the corners that have been cut to keep the price so low.

It’s also an indication of how quickly the panel will degrade and produce less-and-less energy. This means your panels may only be producing a small fraction of their original capacity by the time the limited warranty ends.

Not only does SunPower’s warranty cover everything mentioned above for 25 years, they also outperform any other panel on the market for up to 4-times longer.

SunPower has been manufacturing and installing solar panels since 1985 and at the cutting-edge of developing the technology ever since. Because of this they have almost 40 years of research, data and independent reviews of their product’s performance. SunPower can provide their “No Worries” warranty because they have complete confidence in their product’s performance and longevity.

68.5% of panels globally have only been installed over the last five years - many of them from new companies that may have been founded as little as five years ago. Because they are new to the industry, these new panel manufacturers have no idea how their panels will perform over the medium-to-long-term, in real-world environments.

The short answer to this is yes. The US Government has banned the import of solar panels made with materials produced by Western Chinese companies connected to forced labour programs. The EU and other western countries are currently reviewing this situation.

This decision has huge implications for Australian solar purchasers.

It is almost certain that Australia will soon follow the USA’s lead. This would deny market access for cheap Chinese solar panel brands such as Canadian Solar, JA Solar, Jinko, Longi and Trina.

If blocked from the Australian market, local offices will close, making it almost impossible to arrange replacement panels – which would be banned from entering the country anyway.

Because SunPower Solar Panels are manufactured in locations including France, Malaysia, Philippines, Mexico and Eastern China – not Western China, they will not be affected by any potential ban.

Along with producing the best solar panels on the market, SunPower ensures there is no forced labour in their supply chain. As a NASDAQ listed company, SunPower’s manufacturer, Maxeon, strictly implements a Global Human Rights Policy that is independently audited annually.

Read a Washington Post article on the issue here:

US bars solar panels from Western China - Washington Post - 24th June 2021

Latest update on panels actually being blocked:

US begins blocking Western China solar modules - PV-Tech - 8th August 2021

View a Bloomberg News video on the issue at:

Why Secrecy Haunts China’s Solar Factories in Xinjiang

For more information about Maxeon, see:

Global Human Rights Policy

Code of Business Conduct and Ethics

Well, yes… and no.

SunPower makes the best performing solar panels available, which means the original purchase price is a little higher, but because they keep performing from 2.5 to up to 4 times longer than the majority of panels on the market, they pay for themselves many more times over.

And because your upfront cost generally translates into a just a slightly longer payback period – which is cost-neutral (or more likely cost-positive) because of the energy your panels are creating – you could actually be saving up to 400% more over 25 years and beyond.