Sunman Energy solar panels reviews

While Sunman Energy has been around for 10 years, its founder and chief technology officer has been heavily involved in the solar panel industry for decades longer - and has a strong Australian connection. 

Australian Office Contact Details

Address: Level 9, 153 Walker Street, North Sydney NSW 2060
Tel: 0402 064 445
E-mail: [email protected]
Website

Company Info

Sunman Energy is headquartered in Shanghai, China. It's headed by Dr. Zhengrong Shi, who founded another solar manufacturer - Suntech - back in 2001. He was its chairman and chief executive officer until 2013 before establishing Sunman Energy in 2014. Dr. Shi was dubbed the "Sun King" during his Suntech days, but it looks like he's staying modest given the name of his latest company.  

Dr. Shi has a strong connection with Australia; receiving his PhD degree in electrical engineering from the University of New South Wales back in 1992. He's been a fellow of the Australian Academy of Technological Sciences and Engineering since 2009, and in 2012 was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of NSW. In other words, he's a pretty cluey guy.

While Sunman Energy solar panels are manufactured in China, in late 2024 Dr. Shi suggested the company could consider manufacturing panels here if it could get support from the Australian Federal Government's $1 billion Solar Sunshot initiative.

Sunman eArc Solar Panels

Sunman Energy's eArc solar panels aren't conventional modules. The company has focused on glassless, ultra-light, thin and flexible products - some of which can be glued on to a roof rather than mechanically fixed. Sunman Energy has noted a stick-on installation in Shanghai it says has survived multiple typhoons.

This eArc whizz-bang technology comes at a cost however, with Sunman Energy panels being pretty pricey compared to their rigid, glass-faced and aluminium framed counterparts. 

To date, eArc solar panels have been primarily used for commercial installations as they are well-suited to "slender" roofs - those built to minimum standards and unable to bear the weight of a normal solar array. Among the Australian installations of note are the curved roof on the library in Noosaville and on Byron Bay’s solar train; making good use of the eArc's flexible attributes.

eArc F-Series

One of the eArc F-Series is still listed on the Clean Energy Council's approved panels list as at late 2024, but they aren't displayed on Sunman's web site any more; although some vendors still carry them.  These were frameless flexible stick-on solar panels, with the 430W model weighing just 7.5kg. That's super-light compared to conventional panels of the same wattage that weigh around 20 kilograms. The eArc F-Series is also super-thin - just 2mm compared to 35 - 40mm.

As well as frameless panels, the eArc was also available in D series (5.6 mm aluminium frame) and B series (35 mm aluminium frame). But even the B Series was significantly lighter than a conventional module - just 9.4kg.

Warranty Information

We *think* the product warranty on the eArc 430-watt F-Series solar panel was 10 years for building applications and 5 years for mobile applications. It doesn't help that Sunman doesn't appear to have any warranty documents on its website.

If you've had Sunman Energy eArc solar panels installed, leave a review and share your thoughts by clicking the blue button near the top of this page. There would be plenty of curious Australians interested in your feedback.