Yep, so there’s not only a lot of different solar panel manufacturers, but there are different types of solar panels. There are the monocrystalline and polycrystalline solar panels. And you may have heard those terms, but I’d say don’t get caught up in whether or not you’re looking for a monocrystalline or polycrystalline panel.

They have similar efficiencies. Just be aware that the monocrystalline panels typically have a darker, blacker hue to them, and the polycrystallines have more of a blue hue to those panels. – That’s right.

Yeah, good point, Warren. The other thing you should consider is the panel production. So each panel’s going to produce a certain amount of watts. And what we’re seeing is that over time, panel manufacturers are producing panels that are incrementally getting more efficient.

What that means is with the same amount of space that panel is able to produce a little bit more solar power. So over time we’re seeing panel efficiencies increase. And so if you’re looking at solar, you want to make sure you have something that’s kind of within the market range at the time you install.

Absolutely. And I think one of the most important aspects when picking out a solar panel is to look for the warranty and the company behind that warranty. – Yeah. And it should be stated that most panel manufacturers, at least the mainstream– – Yeah.

They’re going to have a 25-year warranty. And that is typically just the panel itself. Then they have an output guarantee, so there’s typically two warranties that come with every panel manufacturer, or the panel manufacturers apply to their panel.

And we often attribute the overall warranty to the production warranty. And your production warranty is much more important than your panel warranty. So Warren, help us understand a little about the differences of those two in more detail.

Sure. The production guarantee guarantees that that particular solar panel will continue to produce electricity for 25 years. Most solar panels have a 25-year production guarantee, meaning that in 25 years, it’ll be producing what it’s guaranteed to produce, which they do degrade slightly over time.

But most panels should be producing about 85% of their initial output by the 25-year mark. The warranty or the hardware warranty that comes with it is typically 10 or 12 or 15 years. And that’s to cover the physical components of the solar panel.

Yep. The last thing you should really look at when you’re looking at different solar panels is, is the company that’s manufacturing the solar panel that you’re looking at, are they financially stable? Are they making a profit? And the reason that it’s so important is this is a long-term investment.

And you want that panel company, that panel manufacturer to be around in future years, if you would ever have an issue with a panel that is no longer operating as it should. So they need to be there to stand behind their warranty.

So if they’re not making money today, that’s a good indication or it should be a red flag that they may not be sustainable over the long-term. – Yeah. I would argue, Charles, that that’s probably one of the most important features.

It is. – Obviously you want to pick a high quality panel that’s efficient, but you want to make sure that the company that manufacturers that panel is gonna be around in 25 years to support those warranty claims.

Yep, and a lot of that data’s public. If a company is publicly traded, you can do your own research. You can call us. We’d be glad to look at that for you. Thank you so much for watching this video.

Hopefully you found this helpful.