Aleo Solar Panels: An Independent Review by Solar Choice

Note: Solar Choice is not a solar installer and has no financial or other incentives to promote any product brand over another. 

Overview of Aleo Solar – Company History

Aleo Solar was founded in 2001 in Prenzlau as Solar-Manufaktur Deutschland (S.M.D) and were renamed Aleo Solar AG in 2005. After setting up their German manufacturing plant and production line, the company was listed in 2006 on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Home appliance company Bosch later took a majority stake in Aleo Solar AG.

In 2014 the company went into liquidation and the brand name “Aleo” and the production facility in Prenzlau, Germany were acquired by SCP Solar GmbH. Majority owner Robert Bosch injected €50 million to the sale to avoid any insolvency to Aleo Solar AG.

Since 2014 the emerging company (now named “Aleo Solar GmbH”) has kept their focus on producing high quality solar panels with their sole manufacturing plant remaining in Prenzlau Germany. The capacity of this plant of just under 500MW per year, means they are a small-scale producer compared to largest Chinese solar brands. The company now has offices in 9 countries across Europe and distriubtion channels across the world.

In 2020, Aleo’s HE-Tec series won awards by the german-based Plus X Award for ‘quality’, ‘ease of use’ and ‘functionality’.

Key Indicators

What is a Bloomberg Tier 1 Solar Panel?

Bloomberg’s infamous tier 1 ranking is NOT a measure of Solar Panel quality in any way. It is simply an indication of the bankability of the manufacturer based on publicly released information on the financial health of the company. This should give you an idea if the company is a large, well-known manufacturer.

Likely due to their smaller size, Aleo Solar is not on the current Bloomberg Tier 1 list

See full list of Bloomberg Tier 1 Solar Panels

What is PV Evolution Labs Top Performer?

PV Evolution Labs with support from DNV GL independently test solar panel reliability. The tests are voluntary, with solar panel manufacturers paying to participate in the testing. This testing process is internationally renowned and is an accurate reflection of the solar panel’s performance.

Aleo Solar Panels have not featured in PV Evolution Labs Top Performers lists.

See full list of PV Evolution Labs Top Performing Solar Panels

Why is office location in Australia Important?

Most solar panel manufacturers entering the Australian market first set up their distribution channels and worry about customer service later. This has led to many unhappy customers who are left trying to contact Chinese head offices to claim on their 10-year product warranty.

Relying on your solar installer is not always an option as since 2011 we’ve seen over 700 residential solar installers (including the large ones) go out of business well within the lifetime of the systems they are installing. 

How Much do Aleo Solar Panels Cost?

Based on Solar Choice’s database we have provided the below-average costs as an indicative guide of the wholesale costs of Aleo solar panels. These prices are typically only available to solar installation companies who are buying at volume, not to end customers.

The above price places Aleo Solar Panels at the premium end of the market.

Aleo Solar Panels – Points of Difference

There are many solar panels out there, what makes Aleo Solar panels stand out?

German Company

Aleo Solar has a long history in the competitive premium solar panel market operating for over 20 years. The company is one of the few companies to solely manufacture solar panels in Europe, while the most of their competitors have shifted solar panel production to countries across Asia.

Beyond Standard Product Quality

Aleo Solar’s panels have an outstanding performance in most of the PV module tests including climate chamber tests, electroluminesence tests and the extreme weather resistance tests. 

Their performance is reported to be almost twice the minimum IEC standards for hail testing, which makes their panels more reliable and durable. As a result, Aleo could be a good option for customers exposed to significant weather.

Aleo Solar Panel Technologies

Aleo Solar Panels produce one of the few solar panels that haven’t shifted production to Asia. They are made in Germany with a Certificate of Origin (CoO) which provides good evidence that they are truly manufacturing the panels in Germany rather than simply assembling or labelling them there.

Aleo Solar currently has 20 solar panels approved by the Clean Energy Council in Australia under the name “aleo solar GmbH”. This is a requirement to be eligible for the federal STC solar rebate.

Aleo Solar has three main series of solar panels: HE-TEC, Elegante and Roof integration which have a variety of different options to suit residential, commercial and utility-scale projects. For Australian market, Aleo Solar provide P23, X61, X63 and X83 premium series and Sol S83 series for BIPV projects.

X61/X63/X83 Premium Series

This panel has covered the majority of Aleo Solar Panels sold in Australia and is their 2019 European best seller. This 315W solar panel (X59L315) features a good 19.2% max efficiency and a slightly thicker than usual 42mm black frame. As well as looking aesthetically appealing the thicker black frame enables the panels to withold pressures up to 8,000 pa which is beyond the IEC standard of 5,400 pa.

This solar panel could be a good option for customers in high hail risk areas as they claim their panels are tested with 40mm ice balls travelling at 100km/h vs the IEC standard of 25mm ice balls traveling at 83km/h.

S83 Sol Premium Series

S83 Sol Premium Seires offer three different power output: 320/325/330 Wp, with an increasing efficiency up to 17.9%. Different from the X61/X63/X83 series, the S83 Sol is all black design: black frame and black backsheet providing an aesthetically pleasing option for customers.

The solar panels feature 60 Monocrystalline PERC cells with a dimension of 1759x1048x36mm.

HE-Tec (LEO / LEO black)

Aleo Solar Premium HE-TEC solar panels are mainly utilised in the roof and utility projects as their higher efficiency, lower power degradation rate and competitive product warranty. 

There are LEO and LEO black sub-series from the Premium HE-Tec, while the LEO series is Glass-foil (white backsheet) interconnectable and the LEO black’s Glass-foil are black. All the Premium HE-Tec panels are monocrystalline modules with 108 Si PERC half-cut cells. 

The maximum power output is up to 410Wp, with a guaranteed minimum of 85.12% of the nameplate power output after 25 years。

Elegante Series

Aleo Solar Premium BIPV / Glass -Glass (Elegante) solar panels are perfect for architectural projects where the solar panels can be integrated into facades.

The Elegante solar panel features a solid construction with 2 x 4mm safety glass. The standard size for Elegante is 1600 x 950 x 9 mm and each panel contains 40 PERC solar cells with a power output of 210Wpm and 13.8% maximum efficiency. Some output and efficiency has been sacrificed to meet the solar panels objective of being integrated into building structures.

The Elegante features a 30-year product and performance warranty, which is greatly above the industry average.

Roof integration (LEO Sol)

Roof integration is considered as a “solar tile” where the small solar modules can be utilised in place of the conventional roof tiles. The solar tiles are strong enough to meet the expectations of a roofing tile and it also is able to generate energy from the sun. LEO Sol has a maximum 350Wp power output with dimension of 1.169 x 1.607 x 17mm. The efficiency of LEO Sol is upto 19.1%, with a lower power degradation rate (85.12% after 25 years)

Aleo Solar’s Warranty Offer for Australian Customers

Solar panels come with a product and performance warranty. The product warranty is designed to cover manufacturing faults in the panel that leads to damage or malfunction and is typically 10 years for most solar panel manufacturers. Aleo Solar offers 25 years product warranty which is on par with the best offers in the market. 

The performance warranty guarantees a certain level of output for the lifetime of the panel – typically guaranteeing 80-82% of the nameplate output after 25 years. Aleos X83 series offers a fairly typical performance warranty, while the X63 premium series offers an improved degradation rate of less than 2% in the first year and 0.45% for the subsequent 24 years.

One concerning part of the Australian warranty that Aleo Solar offers is that all claims must be made directly to their German office:

“All claims under these supplementary guarantees must be submitted in writing to:

aleo solar GmbH, Marius-Eriksen-Straße 1, 17291 Prenzlau, Germany or claim@aleo-solar.com

aleo can also be contacted at +49 (0) 39848328 0 to discuss your claim.”

In the event of your solar installer no longer being around – this may become a tedious process to make any claims directly to Aleo Solar.

Read more about Aleo’s warranty terms and conditions

Aleo Solar Panels Pros and Cons

Pros

• Panels are solely manufactured in Prenzlau Germany.
• Products have a 25-year performance and product warranty.

Cons

• Do not feature on the PV Evolution Labs list as a top performing solar panel.
• Do not feature in the Bloomberg Tier 1 ranking
• Small-scale producer compared to larger Chinese solar brands (could also be listed as a pro!).

Comparison of Aleo Solar Panel Specifications (common modules)

Should I Buy Aleo Solar Panels?

Aleo Solar has a unique position offering German-made solar panels, however a lot of the technical specifications have now been exceeded by Chinese brands. The main concern for the Australian market, is the complex warranty claim procedure that they could be subjected to as Aleo do not have a local presence in Australia.

Example of an Aleo Solar Project

• Year: 2019
• System Size: 30kW
• Location: Casey research station, Antarctica
• First Australian solar farm in Antarctica with 105 Aleo Solar panels, mounted on the northern wall of the ‘green store’, providing about 10% of the station’s total demand yearly.

Read more product reviews from Solar Choice

• About
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Jeff Sykes

CEO at Solar Choice

Jeff has consulted on over 20MW of commercial solar projects, ranging from SMEs to ASX top 100 companies. Jeff has also provided independent advice to 100s of residential solar, battery and EV charging customers across every state in Australia. He holds an MBA from the Australian Graduate School of Management and is an expert in business strategy and financial analysis.

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