Qcells Beefs Up Q.MAXX Solar Panels

Solar panel and battery manufacturer Qcells says Australian ordering is ready to rock for its new Q.MAXX BLK-G5+ and Q.MAXX-G5+ modules.

The Q.MAXX BLK-G5+ and Q.MAXX-G5+ have both had a power boost. According to SQ’s solar panel comparison table, the G4 topped out at 410W (the BLK version at 400W) and the biggest G5 is 415W.

Some basic specs for the Q.MAXX-G5+:

• Cells: 6 × 18 monocrystalline Q.ANTUM half-cut cells.
• Capacities: 405W and 415W
• Dimensions: 1722 mm × 1134 mm × 30 mm
• Weight 21.1 kg
• Efficiency: ≥ 20.7% and ≥ 21.3%
• Temperature Coefficient:  −0.34 %/°C

The all-black Q.MAXX BLK-G5+ are available in capacities of 390W, 400W and 410W.

The product warranty on both is 25 years. The performance warranty is also 25 years, which guarantees at least 98% of nominal power during the first year and 0.5% degradation per year thereafter (93.5 % of nominal power at 10 years and at least 86% of nameplate capacity at 25 years).

The full Q.MAXX-G5+ datasheet is here, and warranty here.

Qcells says the new panels take advantage of a further refinement to the company’s Q.ANTUM DUO Technology. And something that may be of particular interest to installers:

“The new modules feature a lighter, and robust frame that allows multiple clamp and bolt options, and up to 13 mounting configurations (3 more than other Qcells modules) with a positive installation experience in mind.”

.. but the panels are actually a tad heavier and little larger than the Q.MAXX-G4.

Australian deliveries of the Q.MAXX-G5+ series (including the BLK) will kick off next month.

It feels like it wasn’t all that long ago when 250W panels were the most commonly installed capacity here. It’s 415W in 2023, so Qcells have now joined that club with the Q.MAXX.

In other recent news from the South Korea-based company, Qcells announced a couple of weeks ago it will invest more than USD $2.5 billion to build a “complete solar supply chain” in the USA; building on its existing manufacturing there. But this will be for supply to the USA market as I understand it. Australians will probably continue to get solar panels made in South Korea or China; not that there’s anything wrong with that.

Australians Seem To Like Qcells Gear

Qcells is a Hanwha Group company. As at the middle of last year, it had annual production capacity of 12 GW for both cells and modules spread across South Korea, Malaysia, China and the USA. The company is fond of rebranding, having tinkered with logos, hyphens and capitalisation in its name on multiple occasions in recent years for whatever reasons.

The rebranding fetish aside, Qcells have a pretty good track record in Australia judging by Qcells solar panel reviews here on SQ. The brand is currently rated 4.8 stars based on 1,243 ratings at the time of writing, and 5 stars over the last 12 months. Qcells modules are currently listed on SolarQuotes’ recommended solar panel brands chart.

On the Qcells battery reviews side of things, there have only been 14 ratings on SolarQuotes to date, scoring an average 4.9 stars. The energy storage product currently being sold in Australia is the Q.HOME CORE H5.