The panels we actually install
Three panels: one made in Australia, one that goes on most of our roofs, and one built for roofs with shade on them. Here is what each is good at, what it costs you in tradeoffs, and which one we would put on your roof.
Free estimate within 1 business day of receiving your photos and power bill. We can't estimate without photos, and we don't visit to estimate. Want the price locked in? Book a $299 design visit, credited back if you go ahead within 30 days of the visit.
SAA S6093214
MEA member 23598 · QLD licence 92489
Most solar quotes name a panel you have never heard of and leave you to work out whether it is any good. We would rather show you the three we install, tell you where each one sits, and let you pick. They are all 475W, so this is not a choice about how much power you get. It is a choice about build quality, how long the warranty runs, how much shade is on your roof, and who picks up the phone if something goes wrong in fifteen years.
Tindo Walara 475W all black
Walara-475G4P-BL · Made in Australia. The one we put on our own roof.
Tindo build these in Mawson Lakes, just north of Adelaide, which makes them one of the very few solar panels actually manufactured in Australia rather than assembled overseas and shipped here. That matters for more than patriotism. The 35mm frame is noticeably heavier than the 30mm frames on most imported panels, they are cyclone tested here by an Australian engineering firm, and if you ever need to make a warranty claim you are dealing with a company in South Australia instead of an overseas support queue. And on panels bought from November 2025, Tindo backs that warranty with real money: a valid claim that needs a panel replaced pays you $1,000 on top of the fix (conditions apply).
- Designed and manufactured in Mawson Lakes, South Australia, under Australian Made licence 8677
- 35mm black anodised frame, thicker than the 30mm frame on most imported panels, which resists flex and the microcracking that comes with it
- N type TOPCon cells, 120 half cells, 16 busbar
- 3.2mm double antireflective coated front glass
- Cyclone tested by Structural Engineering Consultants Australia
- Hail tested to 25mm hail at 23m/s, and load tested to 5400Pa on the front face
- Every panel is tested at 7 quality checkpoints on the Mawson Lakes line before it ships
- All black, so it disappears into a dark roof instead of framing every panel in silver
- $1,000 Worry Free Warranty on panels bought from 1 November 2025, once the system is registered with Tindo (conditions apply)
- Warranty handled by an Australian company on Australian time, and it covers the labour to swap a panel, not just the panel itself
- Rated power
- 475W
- Cell technology
- N type TOPCon, 120 half cells, 16 busbar
- Frame
- 35mm black anodised aluminium
- Front glass
- 3.2mm double antireflective coating
- Panel size
- 1910 x 1133 x 35 mm
- Weight
- 23.5 kg
- Product warranty
- 25 years
- Performance warranty
- 25 years, at least 97% in year one and no less than 87.4% at year 25
- Certified to
- IEC 61215 and IEC 61730, TUV SUD
- Made in
- Mawson Lakes, South Australia
Best for: Homeowners who want the best panel we can put on a roof and who would rather their money stayed in Australia. Also available as a 440W Walara if your roof needs the smaller module.
Trina Vertex S+ 475W dual glass
TSM-475NEG9RH.28 · What goes on most Nuvolt roofs, and what is in our packages.
This is the panel in our solar and battery packages and the one we install more than any other. Trina is one of the largest and longest running panel makers in the world, and the Vertex S+ is their dual glass N type module: glass on the back as well as the front instead of a plastic backsheet, which holds up better to heat, moisture and the salt air we deal with along the coast. It is the sensible middle of the range, and there is nothing about it we have to apologise for.
- Dual glass construction, so no plastic backsheet to degrade in coastal heat and humidity
- N type i-TOPCon cells, which hold their output better in high temperatures than older P type panels
- 30 year performance warranty, five years longer than the Tindo
- Black frame, and the module we already size every package around
- Volume availability, so it is rarely the thing holding up an install date
- Rated power
- 475W
- Cell technology
- N type i-TOPCon, 96 half cells
- Construction
- Dual glass, black frame
- Product warranty
- 25 years
- Performance warranty
- 30 years
- Made in
- Overseas
Best for: Almost everyone. If you want a proven panel with a long warranty and you are not fussed about where it was made, this is the one we will quote you by default.
Aiko Neostar 3S54 475W all black
AIKO-A475-MCE54Mb · The one to use when a tree, a chimney or a gable is in the way.
Almost every panel on the market handles shade the same crude way: when part of it is covered, a bypass diode switches out a whole third of the module. Aiko's ABC cells do something genuinely different, bypassing shade at the individual cell level instead, so a shadow across one cell costs you single digits rather than a third of the panel. If your roof has a tree, a chimney, a gable or a neighbour's second storey putting shade on it for part of the day, this is the panel that deals with it, and it does so without adding separate optimisers and their cost and failure points.
- Partial shading optimisation built into the cell, so no separate optimisers to buy, fit or replace
- N type ABC (All Back Contact) cells, with the contacts on the rear so nothing shades the front of the cell
- Temperature coefficient of -0.26%/degC, which holds output better than most panels on a hot Queensland roof
- 108 cells, IP68 junction box with 3 bypass diodes, original MC4-EVO2A connectors
- Tested to IEC 61701 salt mist corrosion and IEC 62716 ammonia corrosion
- Hail tested to 25mm hail at 23m/s, and front load rated to 5400Pa
- 21.1kg, lighter than the Tindo, which helps on a two storey lift
- All black, so it disappears into a dark roof
- 30 year performance warranty, with no more than 1% loss in the first year
- Rated power
- 475W
- Cell technology
- N type ABC (All Back Contact), 108 cells
- Shading
- Cell level partial shading optimisation, 3 bypass diodes
- Frame
- 30mm black anodised aluminium
- Front glass
- 3.2mm tempered
- Panel size
- 1762 x 1134 x 30 mm
- Weight
- 21.1 kg
- Temperature coefficient of Pmax
- -0.26%/degC
- Product warranty
- 25 years
- Performance warranty
- 30 years, no more than 1% loss in year one and no less than 88.85% at year 30
- Certified to
- IEC 61215, IEC 61730, IEC 61701, IEC 62716
- Made in
- Overseas
Best for: Roofs with real shade on them: a tree that cannot come down, a chimney, a gable, a neighbour's upper storey, or anything that puts a shadow across the array for part of the day.
Almost every solar panel on an Australian roof was made somewhere else
Tindo have been making panels in Mawson Lakes, just north of Adelaide, since 2011. They are one of the very few manufacturers doing it here rather than importing finished modules and putting a local sticker on the box.
We are an Australian owned and operated business ourselves, run by the licensed electrician who does the work, so we have a soft spot for a supplier in the same position. But we are not going to pretend the panel is twice as good, because it is not.
What it genuinely gives you is a heavier frame, cyclone testing carried out here, and a warranty you claim from a company in South Australia rather than an overseas support queue. Tindo even puts money on it: panels bought from November 2025 carry their $1,000 Worry Free Warranty, which pays you $1,000 if a panel ever needs replacing under a valid claim (conditions apply). Over twenty five years on a coastal roof, those are the things that turn out to matter.
If that is worth it to you, tell us and we will quote the Tindo. If it is not, we will quote the Trina and neither of us will lose any sleep.
Australian owned and operated. Local crew on the Sunshine Coast. No overseas call centres.
Still not sure? Read this bit
The honest version, in three lines.
You want the best build we can get, you are on a coastal or exposed site, and backing an Australian manufacturer means something to you.
You want a proven dual glass panel with a 30 year performance warranty and you want the sensible middle. This is what we quote unless you tell us otherwise.
Part of your roof sits in shade for some of the day, from a tree, a chimney, a gable or the house next door, and you would rather the panel handled it than fit an optimiser behind every one.
Every panel above goes in with the same install standard, the same certificate of electrical safety, and the same lifetime workmanship warranty (conditions apply). See the full solar and battery packages for what the rest of the system looks like.
Common questions
Which panel do you actually recommend?
For most homes we quote the Trina Vertex S+ 475W, because it is dual glass, carries a 30 year performance warranty and we have installed a lot of them. If you want the best panel we can put on a roof, and you like the idea of your money staying in Australia, we go to the Tindo Walara, which is made in South Australia. If part of your roof sits in shade for some of the day, from a tree, a chimney or the house next door, we go to the Aiko Neostar, because it handles shade inside the cell instead of switching out a third of the panel. All three are 475W, so this is a choice about build quality, warranty support, where the panel came from and what your roof is like, not about output.
Are Australian made solar panels actually worth the extra?
It depends on what you are buying them for. On paper the Tindo is not a dramatically different panel to a good imported one, and its performance warranty is actually five years shorter than the Trina and the Aiko. What you get for the extra is a heavier 35mm frame, cyclone testing done here by an Australian engineering firm, and a warranty you claim from a company in Adelaide rather than an overseas support queue. That warranty also comes with something no imported panel offers: on Tindo panels bought from November 2025, a valid claim that needs a panel replaced pays you $1,000 on top of the fix, once the system is registered with Tindo (conditions apply). Plenty of our customers also simply want to back an Australian manufacturer and Australian jobs, which is a fair reason on its own. We will tell you honestly where the difference is real and where it is not.
Does the panel choice change the rebate?
No. The federal STC discount is based on the size of the system, your zone and the current certificate price, not on which brand of panel you pick, as long as the panel is on the approved list. All three of these are. The panel you choose changes the price of the system, not the rebate that comes off it.
My roof has some shade on it. Do I need optimisers?
Not always. On an ordinary panel, shade across one part of it switches out a whole third of the module, which is why a shaded roof usually ends up with an optimiser behind every panel. The Aiko Neostar deals with shade inside the cell instead. Aiko's own figure is that shading one cell costs a single digit percentage of the panel's power, and the bypass diode does not step in until four cells are shaded. On most part shaded roofs that removes the reason to fit optimisers at all, which means fewer parts on the roof. A roof that sits in shade for most of the day is still a poor place for solar whatever panel goes on it, and we will tell you that straight from your photos, or at a design visit if one is needed.
Can I mix panel brands on one roof?
We do not do it unless there is a good reason, such as adding to an existing array where the original panel is no longer made. Mixing brands or wattages on the same string means the string performs to the weakest panel, and it complicates warranty claims later. If your roof faces several directions we solve that with the inverter and how the strings are grouped, not by mixing panels.
What warranty do I get on the installation itself?
The panel warranties above come from the manufacturer. Our own work carries a lifetime workmanship warranty (conditions apply), and we hand over a certificate of electrical safety on every job. The two are separate things, and you should expect both from any installer.
Where we do this
We quote and install these panels right across the Coast, and these are the suburbs we are in most weeks.
Tell us which one you want on your roof
Get a free estimate from your details and photos, or book a $299 design visit and get a written design you keep and a locked in fixed price within 3 business days. No salesperson, and no sales call dressed up as a design.