Why REC Won Best Panels & Support: 2023 SQ Installers’ Choice Awards

And the winner of SolarQuotes Installers’ Choice Awards 2023 for “Best Solar Panels” is… drum roll… REC (Renewable Energy Corporation). Not only did they steal the number one position this year, but they were also the winner in the “Best Support” category.

So what does it take for a company like this to stand out from the crowd? According to the solar installers surveyed this year, REC solar panels ended up on top of the pack for multiple reasons.

REC delivers across the board in quality, reliability, support, warranty, brand reputation, and sustainability. Add to that – if it’s possible to think of a solar panel as being sexy, the flagship REC Alpha Pure R series looks pretty hot.

Note that this is not an advertisement for REC Group¹! We’re just reporting the sentiment of industry professionals working with solar products daily.

I interviewed three Australian installers and suppliers who work with REC panels (among others) every day. Here’s what they had to say on the key issues:

Quality

REC is a vertically integrated manufacturer, so they control everything in the manufacturing supply chain. This means they potentially have better quality control throughout the whole process.

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“REC has a greater overview of their manufacturing process from point of sourcing raw products to when the panels leave the factory. This enables them to have greater quality control which is really important.”

Jonathan Fisk (Solaray Energy):

“REC Apha Pure R is one of the top premium solar panels available. They have better technology and better design, which outperforms pretty much every other panel on the market over the long term. It’s a significant investment, but a very high quality, high performing panel for those that are looking for a long term return from their solar system.”

Quality, Not Quantity

Dan Spence (SolarWide):

“A lot of the Chinese manufacturers have got caught up in the “We are the biggest and the best” competition where the volume of production and high panel wattage is their point of difference. REC seems to have said “We’ve got the right technology, let’s do it slowly, do it right. Their TwinPeak 5 is a 400W panel that has only just been released, yet Chinese high wattage panels have been out there for well over 12 months, but not at the same quality level.”

REC Alpha Pure and Pure-R panels are built with extra bars to support the glass under load. They are rated for up to 7000Pa front load, which is well above the industry standard of 5000Pa.

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“Extra support bars certainly give the panels greater strength, particularly as we’re moving towards larger panels. There’s been some concern in the industry that the larger panels may not have the longevity, and so having extra support gives the panels greater integrity.”

Reliability

REC claims to have the lowest warranty rate in the industry, however, this is unverified. Their website states: “The reliability and quality of our panels are evidenced by our claims rate – out of 4 million panels manufactured each year, just 400 might come back as product claims.”

This seems to be reflected by the installers I spoke with. I posed the question, “Have you ever had to make a warranty claim with REC?”

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“No. Not one. When you choose quality brands and do your due diligence it’s a win in the end, because you’ve got fewer warranty claims to deal with and it’s a whole lot nicer experience.”

Jonathan Fisk (Solaray Energy):

“We have never had to make a warranty claim through REC, so we don’t know how good their warranty support is, and hope we don’t have to find out”.

It seems to be ok, according to Dan Spence (SolarWide):

“We had an old 12kW system that was installed on the beach in the harshest possible environment. We were doing a system check for the owner and found that there was some moisture ingress into some of the MC3 connectors. There were 3 months left on this $63,000 system (it was old!) and REC said we don’t want it happening to the whole system, so rip them all off and we’ll replace the whole lot at our expense.”

Support

REC Certified Solar Professional Program

This is an installer certification program offered by REC Group that ensures solar installers are equipped with the knowledge and best practices to install REC panels. It is open by invitation only. Having a rooftop solar system installed by a REC-certified installer enables the product warranty period to be extended a further 5 years under the REC Protrust warranty.

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“The REC-certified program is awesome. The support and training that they provide are not only for installers but also for other aspects of the business such as management, admin staff, and sales. We hear stories from other manufacturers where warranty claims may not necessarily have been a product issue but rather an installation one. I think if manufacturers looked at running those sorts of programs and training courses before purchasing and installing their products, there would be lower levels of warranty claims.”

Dan Spence (SolarWide):

“In the early days, it may not have meant a lot, but now you have to maintain the training on a yearly basis to keep the training. REC only wants to be associated with the best installers because that reduces the number of warranty claims. If you’ve got 2 guys running around slinging panels out of the back of a ute and out of there in 2 hours, those panels are going to be trashed before they’ve left the driveway.

 

On the other hand, if you have installers taking their time and paying attention to detail you’re going to end up with a good result. If a panel is mistreated it might not be visibly damaged at first, but it’s guaranteed that micro-cracks will show up after a few years.”

Warranty

On paper REC has performance and product warranties comparable to the best in the industry, however, there may be more to warranties than first meets the eye. This is from the REC website:

Product Warranty – Covers panel defects and promises superior quality for at least 20 years. All panels are eligible for a +5-year product warranty extension, as part of the REC ProTrust Warranty.

Performance Warranty – REC warrants that the power output will reach at least 98% of the nameplate power output during the 1st year. From the 2nd year, the power output will decline annually by no more than 0.25% for 24 years, so that by the end of the 25th year, an output of at least 92% of the nameplate power output will be achieved.

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“15 years ago performance warranties for solar panels were not as well understood by the industry, and certainly not by consumers. Now people understand that it’s the product warranty that really counts.”

Dan Spence (SolarWide):

“At the moment you’ve got some manufacturers like REC that have a real 20-25 year product warranty because they’ve been around that long. They’re at the price point where if there’s a problem they can afford to sort it. Unfortunately, some other manufacturers that are working at almost a loss, there’s no way they’ll be around in 20 years to honor their warranty.”

Brand Reputation

REC Group has a long history and has been operating in one form or another since 1996. Their owners, Indian conglomerate Reliance Industries have a diversified business model, leaving them less exposed to unforeseen events such as the 2008 financial crisis.

Jonathan Fisk (Solaray Energy):

“The reason REC is trusted by so many is that they’ve been around for a long time, so they have the pedigree, the manufacturing experience, and are now well funded through their new owners. This means that not only can you trust they’ve been designed and manufactured to the right quality level, but also if there is a problem there will be support there afterward.”

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“As the solar industry is maturing, we’re now starting to see in the older systems the lack of longevity in some of the products used early on. Some people may have had a bad solar experience, and so now they’re looking to buy a product not based solely on budget.”

Dan Spence (SolarWide):

“REC is a solid panel with a solid warranty. Our business is protected because we sell good gear. If you sell a cheaper product and it fails, the manufacturer may not be there, and that’s why so many installers also disappear.”

Sustainability

REC believes that being a good corporate citizen is a big deal. Their corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and reporting are guided by ISO 26000, which is a way of assessing an organization’s commitment to sustainability.

Sourcing of raw materials, human rights, sustainable manufacturing, recycling, up-cycling, equitable work practices, and community development are all part of the company’s practices.

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“REC has really concentrated on delivering a quality product with sustainability at the core of what they’re doing. There aren’t too many companies looking at the full life cycle, including the source of where the raw materials come from.

 

A company being sustainability-minded is becoming more and more important as people are more critically aware of climate change. Modern slavery is also something that’s started to impact the industry. People are becoming more conscious about those sorts of things here in Australia.”

In Summary

So there you have it. Thoughts from some in the industry as to why REC Group won SolarQuotes Installer’s Choice Awards 2023 for “Best Solar Panels” and “Best Support”.

Dan Spence (SolarWide):

“The exit of LG from the premium panel market a year or so ago paved the way for another player to fill that giant void. The GM of REC made some smart moves that have paid off. We’ve been selling and installing REC panels for 12 years and cannot fault them at all.”

Bobbi McKibbin (Solar Integrity):

“A massive congratulations to REC for winning this award, it’s well deserved. There’s been a lot of passion and a lot of work that goes into that, and being recognized for it is really a wonderful thing.”

Gus Paviani is REC Country Manager for Australia & New Zealand. He’s pretty chuffed, so let’s leave him with the last word. Over to you Gus:

“REC Solar is honored to be voted as the winning solar panel for the SolarQuotes Installer’s Choice Awards 2023 in the “Best Panel” and “Best Support” categories. We believe solar installers have voted for REC Solar as we’ve consistently focused on providing quality solar panels over the last 25 years to residential and commercial businesses.”