Dyesol is positioning itself to revolutionise the solar photovoltaics (PV) industry by making available an innovative but still largely uncommercialised PV technology: the Dye Solar Cell (DSC). DSC is a […]
Category: Solar System Products
Solar Choice blog articles and reviews about components for solar power systems, including solar inverters, solar cells, solar modules, and solar batteries.
How to identify a good solar PV panel manufacturer
With lifespans of 25+ years, installing a solar PV system is something that most people will only ever do once. This makes it imperative to ensure that the components used […]
Solarwatt Easy-In BIPV roof systems
Solarwatt is a solar photovoltaic (solar PV) module maker based in Dresden, Germany. In addition to standard solar modules, the company also provides off-grid solar and building-integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) solutions. […]
Samil Power Inverters in Australia
Samil Power is a solar inverter manufacturer with production plants in China and sales offices in Australia, Germany, UK, Italy, France, USA and China. The company specialises in all […]
SMA Sunny Boy 2100TL inverters now available in Australia
SMA Sunny Boy 2100TL inverters, part of SMA’s transformerless inverter range, are now available in Australia. The vast majority of the solar installers in the Solar Choice installer […]
SunPower Solar Panels in Australia
The world record for solar panel efficiency goes to SunPower‘s solar panels: 24% cell efficiency (sunlight –> usable electricity in laboratory conditions) and 19.6% conversion efficiency (sunlight –> […]
Off-grid solar power system in Sydney’s Western Suburbs
Nev and Linda Sweeney have been living on their 500-square-meter suburban plot in Sydney’s St Clair Suburb since the early 1980s, and have been trying to live sustainably using the […]
Suntech Hiperforma 240W and Superpoly 290W Vd solar panels released in North America
Suntech Solar, the world’s largest producer of solar panels in the world, has recently released two new panels into the North American market: Hiperforma 245-watt panel using Suntech’s PlutoPower(TM) technology for residential, […]
Solyndra Solar Tubes: Installations growing in Australia
Solyndra solar tube technology has been widely praised as one of the most innovative approaches to solar electricity generation in the world. Solyndra modules utilise ordinarily lower-efficiency (compared to mono- […]
Types of solar inverter efficiency
There are three numbers you will come across when considering purchasing a solar inverter based on its efficiency: peak efficiency, Euro (η) efficiency, and CEC efficiency. […]
EnaSolar: Web-monitored solar inverters from NZ
EnaSolar manufactures a range of solar inverters for the residential solar market. Their inverters are some of the most innovative available on the market, with built-in, comprehensive solar system monitoring […]
SilexSolar SLX Panels: Australian solar power
Update 30 May 2012: SilexSolar has ceased solar panel manufacturing. As SilexSolar parent company SilexSystems is remains operational, however, warranties on SilexSolar products will still be serviceable. Silex is Australia’s […]
Desert Knowledge Solar Centre: Solar Panel Performance Comparisons
If you are looking for a direct comparison between different or competing brands of solar panels in Australia, you would be wise to visit the Desert Knowledge Australia Solar Centre. […]
Suntech Solar Panels in Australia
Suntech is the largest manufacturer of solar photovoltaic (PV) modules in the world. Suntech’s 350-person strong research and development (R&D) team spans three continents. Although Suntech’s head office and manufacturing operations […]
Solar PV Windows: BIPV Technology by Pythagoras Solar
As it currently stands with most buildings, the sun’s light is often a burden, especially in summer, when it heats up exteriors and necessitates energy to be spent on cooling. Pythagoras […]
Sanyo HIT Solar Panels: high efficiency panels from an industry pioneer
SANYO is a Japan-based Fortune 500 company and one of the largest electronics manufacturers in the world. Although probably best known for its home appliances, Sanyo is also a major […]
Solar power grid price parity through BoS cost reductions
In a previous Solar choice blog entry, we discussed the meaning of grid price parity (or grid parity) and why it is such an important goal in the solar power […]
Residential Solar System Warranties: What to look for, what to watch out for
When thinking about installing a residential solar power system, it is important to carefully consider the types and durations of the warranties offered by solar system installers. This article explains […]
Oversizing your solar PV system’s inverter for future array expansion
Some households and businesses, when considering whether to install a solar power system, are tempted to oversize their inverter with the idea of later expanding their solar panel array to […]
Renewable Energy: Charging Electric Vehicles
How will the transportation of the future reduce its reliance on fossil fuels? Despite all its advantages, one of the biggest disadvantages of photovoltaics (PV or solar power), and most […]
Troubleshooting your grid-connected solar power system
On our blog we often receive comments from people who have installed solar power systems but, for some reason or other, are not seeing the optimal or anticipated performance from […]
Making an informed decision-Questions to ask yourself when considering solar power
We here at Solar Choice are regularly asked about not only technical issues related to solar power, but also about which Installers are the most reputable and dependable. Even before […]
Queensland floods and solar power arrays: safety and precautions
The cataclysmic flooding in Queensland has devastated individuals and communities, taking and ruining lives, and leaving large sections of cities and towns underwater. As the flood waters recede and people […]
Feeding Solar Power Back To The Grid
Feeding Solar Power back into the electricity network is the job of your inverter. We have talked about sizing your inverter and how the location of your solar power panels […]
Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Maintenance
This is the third instalment in a series about batteries for stand-alone or off-grid power systems. Our first blog in the series provided a rundown on how to size a […]
Solar Powered Stand Alone Power Systems: Ways to minimize cost!
There are several components to designing a Solar Powered stand alone power system and thus there are several ways to minimize the cost of the system! This article will talk […]
Inverters for Stand Alone Solar Powered Systems
When you decide that you want to power your entire home from solar power one of the decisions that installers make is the size of the inverter this is the […]
Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Types of Batteries
Part 2 of 4 Welcome to the second installment in a four-part series about batteries for stand-alone power systems (SAPS) otherwise known as ˜off-grid’ power systems. […]
Using direct current to power devices in off-grid solar PV systems
Off-grid solar systems tend to require significantly more caution, care, and maintenance than grid-connected systems, where you can plug in and use any appliance you want without having to think about […]
Batteries for Stand Alone Solar Power Systems: Sizing Battery Banks
Part 1 of 4 Previously we here at Solar Choice wrote a bit about some of the things you would need to take into consideration when thinking about installing an […]
Getting Grid-Connected in your State or Territory
You are a faced with a slight conundrum: you’re considering installing a solar energy system (photovoltaic or PV) in your home and you’re looking into connecting solar to the grid […]
