JA 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.

JA Solar – Company History

JA Solar was originally founded in 2005 and is based in Beijing, China. The company was listed on the US NASDAQ exchange back in 2007 during an early growth phase and has recently been acquired by JASO Acquisition Limited which effectively has taken the company private again.

The company has 9 manufacturing facilities in China and one in Malaysia and Vietnam with a total annual production capacity of 42.5 GW (reported by Bloomberg NEF). This makes JA Solar the third largest producer of Solar Panels as of September 2021.

JA Solar has 25,000 employees as of 2022 working across 32 factories and branches around the world.

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 the company. This should give you an idea if the company is a large, well-known manufacturer.

JA Solar is listed as a tier 1 manufacturer in Bloomberg’s Q2 2020 report.

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.

JA Solar are named as a top performer in the test of 6 performance tests(thermal cycling, damp heat, mechanical stress sequence, hail stress sequence and LID+LETID) in the latest 2024 report.

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 we’ve seen many residential solar installers (including the large ones) go out of business well within the lifetime of the systems they are installing. 

JA Solar’s listed local office in North Sydney is a ‘serviced shared office’ managed by Servcorp.

How much do JA Solar Panels cost?

Based on Solar Choice’s database we have provided the below-average costs as an indicative guide. These prices include:

• Full turnkey Solar System with JA Solar Panels
• Installation from a pre-vetted reputable installer from Solar Choice’s network
• The STC rebate and GST

 Important Note: Prices will vary depending on location, inverter brand and which installer is used

JA Solar Panel －Points of Difference

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

One of the world’s largest solar panel manufacturers

JA Solar is one of the largest solar panel manufacturers with third-largest solar module capacity (reportedly 42.5GW/year in 2021). JA Solar has focused on producing a mid-market solar panel for the masses that combines reliability with an affordable price point. JA Solar is one of the most competitively priced of the ‘big-name’ solar panels on the market.

JA Solar Panel Technologies

Most of JA Solar’s products have been approved by the Clean Energy Council (listed under the parent company Shanghai JA Solar Technology Co Ltd) for the Small-scale Renewable Energy Scheme – Australia’s home solar rebate program.

Deep Blue 3.0 Light

JA Solar’s Deep Blue series is one of the more affordable options on the market with their current model available in Australia offering an output rating of 415W.

The solar panel has a maximum efficiency rating of 21.3% which we would consider to be above average. It measures 1.7m by 1.1m making it ideally suited to residential rooftops.

The panel only comes with a 12-year warranty which is now one of the shortest offers in the residential rooftop market with most manufacturers offering up to 25 years. This calls out some questions to the reliability and longevity of these solar panels.

Deep Blue 4.0 Pro

JA Solar do offer a more premium option to the residential rooftop market in their Deep Blue 4.0 Pro series. This is currently available in a 440W output rating which is ideally suited to Australian regulations.

The solar panel features N-type solar cell technology and is a bifacial solar panel meaning it can absorb sunlight on the underside of the panel as well. For most residential customers there won’t be much benefit of the bifacial construction as solar panels are typically flush mounted to the roof with minimal space for sun reflection and most roofing material won’t reflect much light.

The solar panel comes with an impressive maximum efficiency rating of 22% and has a longer product warranty offer of 25 years. For these reasons we would encourage residential customers looking at JA Solar panels to go for this model.

Independent Testing of JA Solar Panels by PV Labs Australia

In a 2023 study commissioned by the ACT Government, PV Labs Australia testing a sample of 121 solar panels sourced directly from suppliers in the market. The solar panels featured 14 different solar panel brands and they have published the results. 

The solar panels were tested via a visual inspection, STC power, electroluminescence, wet leakage and potential induced degradation. 

JA Solar scored mixed results in the 2 rounds of testing. In the first round of testing they scored a relatively low score of 78 out of 100 and then scored a mid-range score of 89 out of 100 in round 2. 

Although there was a relatively small sample size, the premium solar panels did score highly and the cheaper panels on the market did receive lower scores. 

See the full report here.

JA Solar Warranty for Australian Customers

Solar panels come with a product warranty of around 15 to 25 years which covers manufacturing defects. There is also performance warranty of usually around 25 to 30 years which covers the rate at which the solar panels will degrade over time. Generally the product warranty is more important to residential customers as its very uncommon and difficult to claim warranty on a performance warranty.

JA Solar offer a 12-year product warranty for their Deep Blue 3.0 Light solar panel which is rapidly becoming one of the shortest offers on the market. Although several years ago this was more common, JA Solar’s reluctance to extend the product warranty offer on this panel to match competition suggests some questions about the panels longevity.

JA Solar’s superior Deep Blue 4.0 Pro series comes with a 25 year product warranty which matches most offers in the residential rooftop solar market.

All of the contact details on the JA Solar warranty documents are for their sites in China. As JA Solar only have a shared office space listed on their website there is some concerns around whether JA Solar customers will have local support through the life of the solar panels.

Read JA Solar’s Full Warranty documents:

Deep Blue 4.0 Pro Series

JA Solar Panel Specifications (common modules)

Pros and cons of JA solar panels

So, are JA Solar Panels worth buying?

JA Solar Panels stack up well for as an affordable mid-range option from a company with a solid financial backing and reputation.

As they are based out of a shared office space in North Sydney it appears they don’t have the same level of local support as some of the bigger brands. They are also in a position to quickly remove any local support if they decide to exit the Australian market as we’ve seen some Chinese brands do in the past.

We would generally only recommend considering the Deep Blue 4.0 Pro series which has a longer product warranty and better performance characteristics.

Example of a JA Solar Commercial Solar Project – South Australian Water Corporation

• Completed in 2018/2019
• Type of Application: Commercial Ground-mount Solar PV System
• System Size: 4.14 MWp across multiple sites

JA Solar provided all the solar panels to three ground-mounted Solar PV projects at Hope Valley Water Treatment Plant (1.5 MW), Glenelg Waste Water Treatment Plant (1.32 MW), and Christies Beach Waste Water Treatment Plant (1.32 MW).

Mr. Baofang Jin, President and CEO of JA Solar, said “JA Solar is committed to the research and development of high-efficiency PV modules… We look forward to promoting the application of renewable energy around the world.”

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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