Risen Solar Panels Review
At GI Energy we can install any solar panel for your home or business. This means we are able to write honest reviews expressing our genuine opinion, without having to be biased due to holding stock of Jinko solar panels, or any other solar panel! This article details the opinion of our Business Development Director, who has 13-years experience in the PV industry. Read below for our review of the Risen solar panels!
Warranty and tech support today: 7.5
Warranty and tech support long-term: 6
Performance: 7
Price: 8
Value for money: 7.5
Total Rating: 7.2/10
Risen Energy are a gigantic Chinese solar panel manufacturer who produce enough panels every year to cover 2.1m Australian roofs! * They have consistently been in the top 10 biggest panel manufacturers in the world for volume for the last decade.
Does size really matter that much? Yes and no, depending on who you are talking to I suppose! Risen solar panels review
There are plenty of massive Chinese solar panel manufactures around so this statistic alone is really not that impressive unless you have suddenly found yourself in ownership of 2.1m homes that desperately need solar panels in the next year! Click here to see which ones are not made in China.
At GI Energy, we like to look at three major factors before deciding whether a solar panel is for us or not.
- Who is the manufacturer?
- How do the panels perform?
- How much do they cost?
There are pros and cons of all major solar panel brands to consider. The best solar panel for you, may not be the best solar panel for you neighbour.
So, who are Risen Energy?
Risen Energy was founded in 1986 and listed as a Chinese public company in 2010. They started manufacturing complete solar panels in 2002 and according to their website, they produced 14.1MW of solar panels in 2020. Risen also manufacturer silicon wafers for others to buy and use in their solar panels. They manufacture nearly all their solar panels in China but do have a facility in Vietnam.
They also invest and develop large utility scale solar projects including a 132MW solar farm here in Australia that was completed in 2019. Risen Energy have offices and sales networks in China, Germany, Australia, Mexico, India, Japan, and the USA. The Australian office is based in at the Hallmarc Business Park in Mount Waverley, VIC. They have been selling solar panels in Australian since 2008.
According to their website, they have maintained a debt ratio of 60% in the last decade, while posting significant growth. They are a Tier One solar panel manufacturer which means Bloomberg credit them with being bankable. Please note, the Tier One approval does not in any way relate to quality or performance of the solar panels. It is a rating based purely on the financial background of the company.
How do Risen solar panels perform?
Risen make a range of solar panels which all perform slightly differently. The current series available in Australia range from 330w 60 cell panels to 450w 70 cells panels. The top of the range is the Jager Plus module which has an efficiency rating of 21%.
There is not an abundance of test results available for Australian consumers and they are not as heavily promoted here in Australia as some of the other large Chinese manufacturers. Risen solar panels review
Risen are a volume player. Their key goal is to produce a lot of solar panels for as little cost as possible. They are not a premium solar panel, and they really do not try to be. However, the Jager range does have better technical statistics than a lot of the other large volume Chinese players. Essentially, according to the datasheet at least, they are a reasonably good solar panel.
How much do they cost?
Risen solar panels are a mass volume, Chinese product and their key goal is to produce low-cost solar panels. Depending on when you buy them and who you buy them from the price will vary but you should expect to pay towards the bottom end of the market for them. The Jager module is a bit different and will cost closer to the mid-price point mark. You should not be too far off the cost of other large Chinese panels brands like Jinko, GCL, JA Solar, Seraphim, Suntech and Longi.
So, are Risen Solar panel any good?
Risen Energy are a massive company who make a lot of solar panels. They are probably a bit better quality than most of the other Chinese manufactures who manufacture similar volume. As a result, they are also slightly more expensive, albeit it marginal.
They will perform well for the price, but they are not a premium solar panel. If you have a slightly higher budget, you can definitely get a better performing panel. Risen solar panels review
They are also a solar panel only manufacturer. This means that if the global market for solar panels starts to dip, which it will eventually, they will have to fight for market share to maintain enough volume to stay profitable. Not every big Chinese solar panel manufacturer will survive in the long-term so we prefer manufactures who are a bit more diversified. Companies, like Q Cell, Phono, LG and Hyundai all have very diversified backgrounds and may be a safer bet for really long term support.
Here are some links worth checking out:
*Based on 14GW capacity = 2.1m x 6.6kW solar systems.
