Price difference of photovoltaic panels of different brands

What is the difference between a solar panel brand and a company?

Before we dive into the top brands, it's important to understand the difference between a solar panel brand and a solar company: Solar Panel Brand: These are manufacturers that design and produce solar panels (e.g., Maxeon, Canadian Solar, JinkoSolar). Solar Company: These businesses sell, install, and maintain solar systems.

How much does a solar panel installation cost?

The best way to evaluate the price of a solar panel installation is in dollars per watt ($/W). Similar to comparing dollars per square foot when shopping for a home, $/W helps standardize the cost of solar by showing the cost of solar on a per watt basis. Currently, the average price of a solar panel system install in the U.S. is $2.91/W.

Where can I buy solar panels?

Solar Company: These businesses sell, install, and maintain solar systems. They may offer panels from multiple brands (e.g., ION Solar, Sunrun). While you can't typically buy panels directly from a manufacturer, many brands partner with installers and distributors nationwide to make their products available.

What are the different types of solar panels?

Solar panels are generally broken into two groups by cell type: monocrystalline and polycrystalline. While there are other types of solar technologies that exist (like thin-film cells), the majority of photovoltaic solar panels available for installation are either monocrystalline or polycrystalline, and are made out of silicon.