Are Seraphim Solar panels any good?
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 Trina solar panels, or any other solar panel! This article details the opinion of our Business Development Director, who has worked in various roles from consultancy, business development and commercial project management in the PV industry since 2009.
Warranty and tech support today: 7
Warranty and tech support long-term: 6
Performance: 6.5
Price: 8
Value for money: 7
Total Rating: 6.9/10
Seraphim is a Chinese manufacture that started trading in 2011.
They have various manufacturing facilities in China, Japan, United States and South Africa. The vast majority of the solar panels they manufacture will come from the Chinese facilities. Overall, they have the capacity to manufacture and distribute 5GW of solar panels per annum. To put that in perspective, the whole residential and small commercial (sub 100kW) market in Australia last year was 2.1GW. So, they are a big Chinese manufacturer – that much we know. Although they have the capacity to manufacture 5GW, they missed out of the top last year for shipped volume:
- Jinko Solar– 14.2GW
- JA Solar – 10.3GW
- Trina Solar – 9.7GW
- Longi Solar– 9.0GW
- Canadian Solar– 8.5GW
- Hanwha Q Cells– 7.3s
- Risen Energy – 7.0GW
- First Solar – 5.5GW
- GCL – 4.8GW
- Shunfeng Photovoltaic – 4.0GW
But, are Seraphim Solar panels any good? The short answer is… they are OK, but it is quite difficult to find anything that stands out unfortunately.
There are plenty of massive Chinese solar panel manufacturers out there, most of which are on the list above.
As usual at GI Energy we like to look at the following criteria when choosing a solar panel:
- Who is the manufacturer and are they going to be able to help with long-term warranty support?
- How will the solar panel actually perform when its installed on my roof?
- How much will it cost me?
So, let’s take a look at the manufacturer:
As we have said above, they started trading in 2011, which makes them quite a new company in the grand scheme of things. They have been in Australia since 2016, and have had an Australia office since 2017, so they are fairly new to our market as well.
Seraphim are also classed as a Tier One manufacturer by Bloomberg New Energy Finance. Please note here though that the “Tier One” classification is a rating based on the financial stability of a solar panel manufacturer, and usually used to show the manufacturers viability for large scale solar farms. So, while this is a good box to tick, it is probably not as important as most seem to promote it as being. Bloomberg are a financial organisation so all they look at is company financials. They are not a solar expert so the Tier One rating should not be confused with a rating that is even remotely linked to solar panel performance. Pretty much every solar panel manufacturer we write about will be rated aa Tier One, and it is a credible achievement, but unless you are approaching your bank and asking them to fund a solar farm, it is probably not that important to you!
Our philosophy at GI Energy to try to use solar panels from long-serving and diverse manufacturers. This is probably Seraphim Solar weakest link – they are quite new, and not diverse at all! A diverse manufacturer is one who has multiple revenue streams, so it is better placed to stand the test of time and more likely to be around to help with long term support if needed.
So, how will Seraphim Solar panels perform?
There are no wide-scale performance issues that we know of with Seraphim solar panels. They seem to make a reliable and reasonable performing solar panel. They are not targeting the premium market in terms of efficiency – their target market is people who value cost before performance. For that reason, their solar panels are never going to top the charts for high performing solar panels. Depending on the solar panel you choose from their range, the warranties vary from 10 – 15 years for product warranty and 25 – 30 years for performance. So, the warranties and performance are both OK, but just OK.
How much do Seraphim Solar panels cost?
This is Seraphim Solar panels best selling point – they are quite cheap. And, for what you pay for them, they are pretty good value as well. As long as you know what you are getting: so many solar retailers are pitching Seraphim Solar panels as “ultra-premium” or “most efficient” and this is honestly just not the case. It is not Seraphim’s mission to be the best and they do not price themselves that way either. We all know the phrase: ”you get what you pay for” and if you want an “ultra-premium” solar panel you have to be prepared to spend a little bit more to get it.
Summary:
Seraphim are another massive Chinese manufacturer who ship a lot of solar panels across the globe every year. There is nothing wrong with them – but there is nothing great either.
Here are some links worth checking out:
