The Best Solar Panels to Buy for Your Home in Zimbabwe (Best Solar Panels in 2024)

Chat with us on WhatsApp via: +263 78 864 2436, +263 77 389 8979, +263 71 961 3479 and +263 71 884 5891.

Sona Solar Zimbabwe, a reputable company based in Harare, offers a range of solar panels for both residential and commercial use. 


Among their top recommendations are Jinko and Canadian Solar Panels, known for their high quality and reliability. As the solar energy industry continues to advance, it is crucial to choose a company with expertise and experience in the field. 

Sona Solar Zimbabwe's endorsement of Jinko and Canadian Solar Panels demonstrates their commitment to providing customers with the best options available in the market. This article ranks the best Residential Solar Panels on the market in 2024.

Editorial Note: All rankings in this article were compiled based on expert opinions, consumer reviews, and solar installation data. Solar Options Zimbabwe was not paid for any of the reviews or rankings.

There is a huge variety of Solar Panels on the market right now - in fact, there are almost 300 solar panel manufacturers with profiles on reviews on this website, Solar Options Zimbabwe.


Competition in any sector is great, but it can also be too much of a good thing. With so many options to choose from, how is a homeowner to decide which solar panel is best for their home?

This article is the answer to that question. It is a definitive guide to the best solar panels in the market in 2023, designed to help consumers - homeowners like you - find the best solar panels for their needs.

To produce this lineup, we have drawn on a number of different resources. We have consulted a panel of solar industry experts, drawn on official government data sources, and collated thousands of consumer review scores across our website. Most importantly, we researched what you, the consumer, want from your solar panels.

The Result: This article has not one, but seven Solar Panel ‘best-of’ lists.


Experts’ Choice: The 5 Best Solar Panels Overall


We asked an in-house group of solar industry experts to weigh the pros and cons of different solar panel brands, and choose which ones they would install on their own homes.

After comparing all of the major brands on the market, here are the top 5 solar brands the experts recommend in 2023.

What The Experts Like:

  1. Panasonic.
  2. LG
  3. Canadian Solar.
  4. Trina Solar.
  5. SunPower.

The Experts Focused on Three Key Criteria When Making their Judgement:
  1. The Manufacturer's Financial Position.
  2. Brand Reputation.
  3. Value for Money.

They explained that since solar panels last so long, it is crucial that the brand will be around to honor any warranty claims over the 25-year lifespan of the panel.

Their choices are divided into two categories of Solar Panels: Three are Premium Solar Panels, and the other two are Value Solar Panel Brands.

The Experts’ Top Premium Panels: Panasonic, LG and SunPower.


Premium Solar Panels are panels that are high quality and boast top-of-the-line specifications - along with a higher price tag. Our experts’ top choices in the premium solar panel category are Panasonic, LG, and SunPower.

All three companies manufacture high-performance modules with superior workmanship, higher efficiency ratings, better temperature coefficients, lower degradation rates, and market-leading 25-year product warranties.

Panasonic and LG solar panels are our experts’ top picks. Besides being excellent panels, they win points for being produced by massive conglomerates. Both companies are known for their high manufacturing standards and are almost certain to be around to honor any warranty claims down the line. This means they are Tier 1 solar panel brands.

Comparing the two, the experts says that the Panasonic solar panels have a slight edge in terms of specs, while LG panels have a small cost advantage.

Meanwhile, SunPower’s panels are actually the very best in the market in terms of efficiency and performance - even better than Panasonic’s and LG’s - yet the brand only ranked #5.

Why? Well according to the experts, SunPower's ranking suffers due to its troubled financial position, coupled with its very high price point. We'll be keeping an eye out to see how things change as SunPower spins off its manufacturing business into a new entity called Maxeon Solar.
 

The Experts’ Top Value Panels: Canadian Solar and Trina Solar.


The other type of companies that made this list are Chinese* panels that offer great value: Canadian Solar and Trina Solar.

Both companies offer high-quality panels with specifications not far off from the best premium solar panels. The big difference comes in terms of price; they are substantially cheaper than premium solar panels, often saving homeowners hundreds or even thousands of dollars in upfront costs.

The one big drawback to Canadian Solar and Trina Solar are their warranties. They both offer product warranties of 12 years; while this is better than the industry standard of 10 years, it's still substantially less than the 25-year warranty offered by premium panels.

*Canadian Solar is actually considered a Chinese company due to its strong links with China, despite being headquartered in, and named after, Canada.

The Most Efficient Solar Panels on the Market:

Solar panel efficiency tells you how much of the sunlight hitting a solar panel is converted by its constituent solar cells into electricity.

Many consumers want to know what solar panels have the highest efficiency ratings.

Based on a review of all commercially-available solar panel models in the U.S. here is a list of the five highest-efficient solar panels.
The Best Solar Panels to Buy for Your Home in 2023 (Best Solar Panels in 2023)
The Best Solar Panels to Buy for Your Home in 2023 (Best Solar Panels in 2023)
We present this ranking with a note of caution: the importance of having high-efficiency panels is generally overhyped. The reality is that you only need to care about solar panel efficiency if you have limited roof space. That’s because all solar panel efficiency indicates is the space required by the panel to produce the energy. The more efficient the solar panel, the less space it will take up on your roof.

The 10 Solar Panel Brands with the Best Review Scores on our site are Presented Below.

  1. Silfab Solar.
  2. Panasonic.
  3. Q Cells.
  4. LG Solar.
  5. Axitec Solar.
  6. Solaria.
  7. Seraphim.
  8. Mission Solar Energy.
  9. Canadian Solar.
  10. Trina Solar.

Four of the solar panels here are also among our experts’ choices for the best solar panels. Panasonic, which along with Silfab Solar is the solar panel that consumers are happiest with, was also the #1 solar panel according to our experts. LG Solar, Canadian Solar, and Trina Solar panel are also panels that our experts loved.

Only one of the experts’ five choices didn’t make it to the list of consumers’ favorites: SunPower. The company currently has a review score of 4.54 (based on 895 reviews); it’s a decent score, but not good enough to make the consumers’ choice list. While SunPower’s panels are undoubtedly top-of-the-line, the company’s reviews reveal that it loses points with consumers due to its poor customer service.

The 10 Best-Selling solar Panel Models for Home:

There’s no doubt you are curious about what solar panel models are most popular among homeowners. To find out, Solar Options Zimbabwe compiled data from recent residential solar installations in California, which is the largest solar market in the U.S. by a large margin.

SunPower Solar Panels:

SunPower snags the #1 spot for the top-selling solar panel model. While our experts loved the best-in-class specs of the SunPower X-series, they were concerned about their higher cost and the company’s viability. However, it seems that Californian consumers are happy to pay a hefty premium to get the very best solar panels available. SunPower solar panels are the top-sellers in California, the most popular state for solar power.

Panasonic Solar Panels:

Panasonic - Our experts’ favorite brand - used to have the #1 best-selling model spot. Sales of Panasonic solar modules, however, seem to have taken a hit due to the decline of their partner, Tesla/SolarCity.

About Solar Options Zimbabwe:

Solar Options Zimbabwe Empowers People To Make Smarter Solar Systems Decisions, Through Simplicity, Transparency, and Choice. Solar Options Zimbabwe gives you access to transparent information so you can make informed decisions, confidently. We connect you with The Best Solar Companies in Zimbabwe who are competing to earn your business.

Solar Options Zimbabwe is the go-to marketplace for making confident energy decisions and gaining control over the buying process.


Contact Solar Options Zimbabwe:

Solar Options Zimbabwe gives you access to transparent information so you can make informed decisions, confidently. Get in touch with us directly via WhatsApp by clicking the Chat with WhatsApp below.

Solar Systems Sales: +263 78 864 2436
Borehole Solutions Sales: +263 77 389 8979
Borehole Solutions Sales: +263 71 961 3479
Water Systems Sales: +263 71 884 5891

Related Stories