Tindo Solar - Solar Panel Reviews

About Tindo Solar

Founded in 2011, Tindo Solar is currently Australia's only solar panel manufacturer - and thankfully for those wanting locally-made products, they produce good quality panels. The company may be a very small player now, but has set its sights on significant growth in the years ahead. 

Australian Office 

Address: 6-8 Park Way, Mawson Lakes SA 5095
Phone: (08) 7912 8184
Sales email: [email protected]
Support email: [email protected]
Website

Company Info

Tindo Solar was founded in 2011. Their original Adelaide factory, situated at Technology Park around 12 km north of Adelaide's CBD, had a manufacturing capacity of 60 megawatts. 

Tindo has always been understandably very pro Australian-made.

In 2014, Tindo Solar instigated an an anti-dumping case against Chinese solar panel manufacturers. It did not succeed. If it had, this could have resulted in punitive tariffs being placed on Chinese panels. This would have helped Tindo Solar and its 25 employees at the time, while harming the rest of Australia’s solar industry by raising the cost of imported panels.

But moving on from that, the company was bought by South Australia's Cool or Cozy in March 2017.

In September 2021, the firm started decommissioning the original factory in readiness to commence operations in its new plant, situated adjacent. The new factory is capable of producing more than twice the output of the old plant (150MW annually) and commenced operations in early 2022.

In early 2023, Tindo Solar officially opened the Australian Centre for Excellence in Photovoltaics (ACEPV) within the new factory premises. ACEPV is to bring together industry and research partners; with one of the aims being to further boost Australia's domestic module manufacturing capabilities.

Tindo isn't stopping there. The company also intends building a new factory capable of producing up to 1 gigawatt (GW) of panels annually. 

Tindo Walara Solar Panels

Tindo's Karra panels served the company and its customers well for years. But Karra has been superseded by the Walara; the launch of which was announced in early September 2024.

Walara panels for residential applications are based on half-cut cells and are currently only available in 425W capacity, but other wattages and variants will make their way to market.

Weighing in at 22 kilograms and with dimensions of 1722 x 1133 x 35 mm, the 425W Walara boasts a module conversion efficiency of 21.8%. The Walara series are the first panels produced in Australia featuring N-Type cells.

Walara Temperature Coefficient

The hotter a solar panel gets, the lower its efficiency. The value that indicates how much a panel's efficiency drops by for each one degree increase in temperature over 25 degrees is called the Max Power Temperature Coefficient, or alternatively  the Temperature Coefficient of Pmax. A typical value these days is around -0.35%. This means if a panel’s temperature is 35 degrees it would produce 3.5% less electricity than if it was at 25 degrees.

Tindo's Temperature Coefficient of Pmax for the Walara is -0.32%/°C, which isn't the best in the industry, but certainly isn't bad either.

Walara Power Tolerance

The majority of good quality panels have positive tolerance. This means their wattage will be the rated amount plus a small amount, for example 0 to 5 watts. Tindo panels' power tolerance used to be plus or minus 3%, which meant its actual wattage could be up to 3% above or 3% below its rating. However, these days it is 0 + ~ 5W.

For further details and to compare Walara specifications with models from other manufacturers, use the SolarQuotes solar panel comparison table.

How Much Australian Content Is In Tindo Solar Panels?

Tindo  assembles solar panels using imported solar cells and other components. 

The company has committed to integrating Australian-made components into its solar panels and in August 2024 announced an agreement with the country’s largest aluminium extruder, Capral Aluminium, for the supply of module frame materials that will be used for Walara modules.

Warranty Details

The Walara is accompanied by a product warranty of 25 years, also also a 25-year performance warranty (87.4% power at year 25).

In the event of an issue with Tindo panels, as with any other modules, your first contact should be your installer.

If you have purchased a Tindo system from an installer who has since gone under, Tindo become responsible for handling the replacement of panels under warranty. They will handle the process for you using installers in their network.

Note that while Tindo's manufacturer’s warranty provides for replacement or repair, including both parts and labour, this only applies within capital city metropolitan areas of Australia.  Added charges apply to "remote" sites (> 50km from CBD of Australian capital cities); including on-site labour and transportation.

Conclusion

If you want Australian made solar panels, then Tindo Solar is a good choice. If you want quality, reliable panels, then you'll also get them with Tindo Solar. The fact the company has survived for many years in the face of intense competition from overseas says a lot.

While they are a comparatively small producer and will most likely never be a " tier one" solar panel manufacturer, we're satisfied that if you install their panels you will be very unlikely to have a problem with them.

If you've had Tindo Solar panels installed, we encourage you to leave a review to let other Australians know your thoughts on their performance.