Phono - Solar Panel Reviews

About Phono

Sumec Phono Solar is a Chinese solar panel manufacturer that has been selling here since 2010.  Usually, they're referred to as Phono Solar or just Phono for short.  Here's some information on them that's so important I've put bullet points next to it:

• Phono Solar is part of the huge Sumec corporation and appears financially stable
• Their panels have a track record of reliability under Australian conditions
• High efficiency of up to 22.5%
• When used residentially, Phono Helios Clear panels have 30 year product warranties
• They have 30 year performance warranties with Helios Clear having one of the lowest allowed degradation rates on the market
• Australian office in Sydney

I've put more detailed info below.

Company History

Phono Solar is part of the giant Sumec corporation which was founded in 1978.  Sumec is tied to the Chinese government and has its fingers in so many pies they should be written up by the Health Department.  Two product lines you may have personal experience with are power tools and lawnmowers -- including electric robot ones. 

Phono Solar itself didn't get started until around 2004 and began large scale manufacturing of solar panels in 2008 with a 120 megawatt panel production line. This expanded to 200 megawatts the following year and in 2014 Bloomberg listed them as a tier one manufacturer.  This means financial institutions were willing to lend money to projects using their panels, which is an indirect measure of reliability.

Phono Solar arrived in Australia in 2010 and so have had a good length of time to show they can handle our environment.

Manufacturing Capacity

Phono says they've shipped a total of over 20GW of panels so far and currently have 3GW of production capacity.  Because manufacturers never reach their potential maximum production, it's likely they're producing around 2GW of panels a year.  These days that makes them a small producer, but it's not the size of your production run, but the quality of the panels that counts, and Phono's are pretty good.

Manufacturing Location

Phono Solar manufacturing takes place in Nanjing, a city English speakers used to call Nanking. It's on the Yangtze River and around one-and-a-half hour's express train ride from Shanghai.  But try not to go there in summer because the locals refer to it as a "furnace city" and that expression has nothing to do with its industry.

Phono Solar's Helios Clear Panel

Phono has several panels on their Australian site, but the latest one is the Helios Clear.  This is a bifacial panel with 440W capacity that is 1.76m x 1.13m.  Because it's their newest panel and aimed at the residential market, I'll give its details below.  But you're looking for technical specifications for Phono and other panels you can find them on our solar panel comparison table.

Bifacial Panels

Phono mainly makes bifacial panels.  These have glass sheets on the front and rear and can use light from either direction.  When installed at an angle on a rack that lets light hit their behind, this can increase output.  But in a typical rooftop solar installation the panels are placed only cm above the roof, so very little light can get in from the sides and hit the back of the panel.  This results in little or no increase in output, but Phono Solar has told me their testing shows their bifacial panels result in a small benefit.

The Helios Clear panel is bifacial and has the word "Clear" in its name because you can see through the gaps between solar cells.  When used for normal rooftop installation, this will let a little more light through which can reflect back and hit the rear of the panel, but it won't be enough to make any real difference to output.

High Efficiency

At this time I'm happy to describe a panel's efficiency as "high" if it's 22% or more.  Helios Clear panels are 22% efficient so they fit in this category.

Excellent Heat Resistance

Heat reduces solar panel efficiency and the typical modern panel has its output reduced by around 0.3% for every 1°C its temperature goes over 25°C.  But Phono Helios panels only lose 0.24% and so have the best heat resistance I know of.  Over a year this may result in roughly 1% to 2% more output than a panel with typical heat resistance.  While this may not seem like much, every little bit helps.

They resist heat so well because they have heterojunction solar cells, which are a type of silicon sandwich.  The technology is impressive, but knowing its details isn't necessary if you're simply looking to put solar on your roof.

Hail Resistance

Phono panels resist hail better than most and, in testing, can handle impacts by 35mm hail travelling at 27.2m/s.  This is equal to being hit by hail a little smaller than a ping-pong ball travelling at 98km/h, which is faster than typical speed.  This isn't enough to stop fist sized hail, but these days, it's a lot cheaper to replace a broken solar panel than to fix a hole in your roof. 

They Can't Handle Shade

On page 4 of the Australian version of the Phono Solar Installation Manual, it says:

"The modules should be completely free of shade at all times."

That's a strict requirement against shade. 

I contacted Phono Solar to ask about this and they said the installation manual would be updated and it would state that permanent shade is prohibited.  I asked if shade early in the morning or late in the day would void the warranty and was told that while it was unlikely to cause an issue with the warranty, they could not guarantee that it wouldn't.  For this reason I recommend only using Phono solar panels in unshaded locations.

May Be Suitable For The Seaside

Phono Solar says to contact them to check if their panels are suitable for installation within 50m of the sea.  From 50m to 500m they require anti-corrosion measures to be taken during installation.  At over 500m, you should be right, but if you're not sure you're far enough from the shore, you can check steel external fittings in the area to see if they're more susceptible to rust than further inland.

Panel Tilt

Phono doesn't recommend a specific minimum tilt for panel installation, but any installed at less than 10° may need regular cleaning due to rain not being able to effectively clean them.

30 Year Performance Warranty

Helios Clear panels have a 30 year performance warranty.  This promises that -- in comparison to when they're new -- they will degrade in output by no more than 1% in their first year and no more than 0.375% in each subsequent year.  This means they will have at least 90% of their original capacity after 25 years and at least 88.1% in their 30th year. 

This is a very low rate of degradation and better than most panels on the market.  While many modern panels have performance warranties that promise they'll degrade by no more than 0.4% after their first year, the Phono Helios Clear panels are just a little better.

30 Year Product Warranty For Residential Solar

Product warranties promise panels will be free of defects in materials or construction.  When installed residentially, Phono Helios Clear panels have 30 year product warranties.  While many quality manufacturers now offer 25 year product warranties, 30 years is longer than most.

Warranty Procedure

If you have a problem with your solar panels you should first contact your installer.  But if they're no longer available, you can contact Phono directly to make a warranty claim.  You can send them a message using their contact page.  If you don't want to use that, you can email them at  www.phonosolar.com.au, [email protected], or [email protected].  Alternatively, you can give them a ring on:  (02) 8114 4516.

My Recommendation

Phono panels have above average heat and hail resistance as well as product and performance warranties of up to 30 years.  Because they have demonstrated reliability under Australian conditions and have a track record of good customer support, we have no problem including them among the panels we recommend. 

Check out more Phono Solar reviews and ratings from Australians below - and if you have these panels installed on your rooftop, we'd welcome your own review.