The sun seems to be on the premium offer of high-end solar brands.
I have first-class Rec alpha panels on my roof. I am a solar nob.
At least I was.
When I installed them, Premium Panels still made sense – somehow. They offered higher efficiency, less deterioration, better heat output, a longer guarantee and the calming that the brand would actually honor them. If their roof was small or shady or if they only liked beautiful things, it was not completely irrational to spend additional ones.
But something has changed. Actually has a lot.
Now it seems as if Rec is moving the focus on a new palette of cheaper panels. Sunpower-Sobald The Gold Standard Hat tacitly dropped everything from our Solar Panel comparison table, with the exception of your budget P7S and the MID-Range Maxeon 3.
The message is clear: the market for premium panels in Australia disappears.
Pay attention to the cost gap
And no wonder. The cost gap is enormous. A typical 10KW system needs about 23 panels. Choose a solid budget brand like Jinko and you will see around 130 US dollars per panel. Go super premium – over 400 US dollars each. This is a difference of 6,000 US dollars for the same amount of electricity.
What do you really buy with this money?
A somewhat slower deterioration rate that could save you a panel in 25 years. Perhaps a guarantee that is a little more generous … but only if you can prove that the error corresponds to the small print.
Budget brands lift their game
In the meantime, the budget brands have lifted their game. Jinko, Trina, Longi. These are not names. They are supported by massive companies, have 25-year-old guarantees and are installed every day by some of the best installers in the country.
A budget brand even won our 2025 Installer Choice Awards for the best solar modules, as I revealed in our latest video.
In 2025 there is simply no reason to spend twice or three times per panel for a badge.
Unless you try to impress other solar nobs at a dinner party.
Premium panels are not only overpriced. They disappear. The brands know. The installers know it. And the buyers also know increasingly.
So yes, I have the solar modules on my roof. They were great. But when I bought today?
Thanks to the battery rabatt, I would invest these additional 6,000 US dollars for an additional 12 kWh battery in the direction of the battery.
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