Solar panel prices - Updated April 2024
Popular solar panels
JinKo Neo N 440W. $195 each inc GST, less $159 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $36 per panel.
JinKo Neo Satin N 440W all black $210 each inc GST, less $159 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $51 per panel.
Trina Vertex S+ 440W dual glass. $205 each inc GST, less $159 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $46 per panel.
Risen RSM108-9 440W. $190 each inc GST, less $159 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $31 per panel.
LonGi MO6 440W. $200 each inc GST, less $159 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $41 per panel.
REC Alpha Pure R 410W all black. $310 each inc GST, less $148 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $162 per panel.
Sunpower Maxeon 3 415W all black. $486 each inc GST, less $152 in STCs (Gov. Subsidy), you pay $334 per panel.
There are many others...Akcome, Seraphim, TW, Hyundai, Canadian, Leapton, Sharp, Astronergy etc etc.
Some of the lesser-known brands are a bit cheaper...
...for example, a dual-glass Akcome 440W 'N' type panel for $180, less $159 subsidy = $21 each
Comparison
15 x JinKo 440W (6.6kW) @ $36 each after subsidy = $540
16 x 415W SunPower Maxeon 3 (6.6kW) @ $334 each after subsidy = $5,344
Recommendations
I really can't see any genuine reason to recommend the more expensive REC or Maxeon panels.
I love quality as much as the next person, but I just can't see the value or common sense in it.
It's ten times the price for 6.6kW of SunPower Maxeons against JinKo's etc.
What do you get extra? A 40 year warranty instead of 25 years...
I hope that well before 25 years have elapsed we have better power-producing tech than clunky solar panels.
So that leaves me with recommending one Chinese giant over another.
Nine times of out ten, it ends up being JinKo.
But if you prefer Risen, LonGi etc, just let us know when we do your quote.
Trina is very good too as long as you don't intend to 'go bigger' when you add a battery.
'Oversizing' an inverter...especially with a battery.
80% of Perth homes have single phase power, and a 5kW solar inverter is the maximum permitted.
If you buy a 'hybrid' inverter and connect a battery you can install more subsidised panels than the usual 6.6kW.
It makes sense. Your panels have to charge up a battery as well as provide power to your house loads.
Your choice of solar panel (and inverter) will determine how much 'extra' panel power you can install.
The lower the 'open circuit voltage' of the panel, the more you can install onto each of the inverter MPPTs.
The JinKo, Risen and LonGi panels above can connect 13 or 14 panels maximum per string.
The Trina 10 panels, REC 9 panels and SunPower 12 panels configured as 2 x 6 panel strings in parallel.
'N' type or 'P' type and half-cell design
A 'N' type solar cell where the silicon has been 'doped' with Phosphorus is common-place now.
It used to be that only the most expensive panels were 'N' types, but now almost everything is.
That's great because an 'N' type panel has a slower rate of degradation.
Or put another way, after 25 years it will still be making about 90% of it's original power.
The other type, 'P' types, 'doped' with Boron are still around.
These 'P' are typically making 80% of their original power after 25 years.
Somewhat bizarrely, the two premium priced brands above still carry 'P' types as their cheaper 'alternative'.
Most panels these days have a 'half-cell' design.
The solar cells have literally been sliced in half so 54 cells become 108 half-cells.
This apparently (I can't prove it myself) radically reduces the risk of 'hot-spots' caused by regular shading.
The power output of half-cell panels is also better in any form of shade.
So much so that some people claim you no longer need optimisers or micro inverters for shade.
There are various videos on Youtube showing tests of this.
I'm sitting on the fence about this.
I think optimisers, intelligently deployed, work really well with shade.
Double-glass
A double-glass panel like the Trina above is a great idea in theory.
More light can reach the cells because the back of the panel is glass not plastic.
A glass sandwich makes for a more rigid panel with greater resistance to flexing in the wind.
The reality is somewhat different, at least for residential solar installations.
Panels attached to a house roof aren't going to let in much light at all from the roof side.
The front glass is almost always half as thick (1.6mm) as normal (3.2mm) to keep the weight/cost down.
That means the panel is more at risk from hail damage than a normal panel would be.
Price
The price of solar panels has never been lower. I'm not 100% sure why, but I can guess.
I suspect that things aren't going quite so well in China.
China usually installs more solar than the rest of World combined, several times over.
If their internal demand has slowed, then there's a glut of panels being made and sold cheaply...to us.
In fact, the prices I've listed at the top of this page will probably be even cheaper by the time you read this.
Not by much..there aren't huge swings, but regular drops of about $5 certainly eats away at it.
Solar panel efficiency
All of the solar panels listed above are between 21% and 22.5% efficient.
All that means is that slightly less roof area is needed for more efficient panels.
I've written an entire page on this subject..
If you would like a solar quotation, in Perth, then call us on...
or email
This review was written by Andrew MacKeith, Solar4Ever service manager since 2011.
Solar4Ever is located in Morley (Perth), WA 6062
