The panels we actually install
Three panels, one of them made in Australia. Here is what each is good at, what it costs you in trade-offs, and which one we would put on your roof.
SAA accredited for solar & battery, S6093214
Master Electricians member 23598 · QLD Lic# 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 and they all use N-type TOPCon cells, so this is not a choice about how much power you get. It is a choice about build quality, how long the warranty runs, 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 micro-cracking that comes with it
- N-type TOPCon cells, 120 half cells, 16 busbar
- 3.2mm double anti-reflective 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 anti-reflective 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.
Risen 475W N-type TOPCon bifacial
RSM96-11-475BNDG · The cheapest way onto a roof that we are still happy to warrant.
When the budget is the deciding factor, this is where we go. It is the same 475W and the same N-type TOPCon cell technology as the other two, it is bifacial, and it carries a 30 year performance warranty. The compromises are real but they are modest: a lighter 30mm frame, and a manufacturer whose warranty support sits overseas rather than in Adelaide. We would rather put a good budget panel on your roof than talk you into a premium one you did not want.
- Same 475W output and the same N-type TOPCon cell technology as the panels above it
- Bifacial, so the rear face picks up reflected light where the roof allows it
- 25 year product warranty and a 30 year performance warranty, which is not a budget-panel warranty
- Black frame, so it still looks tidy on a dark roof
- The lowest cost per watt of the three, which is the entire point of it
- Rated power
- 475W
- Cell technology
- N-type TOPCon bifacial, 96 half cells
- Frame
- 30mm black anodised aluminium
- Product warranty
- 25 years
- Performance warranty
- 30 years
- Made in
- Overseas
Best for: Budget-led jobs, investment properties, and anyone who wants the array as big as possible for the money without dropping to a panel we would not stand behind.
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.
The budget is the deciding factor and you want the biggest array your roof and your money allow, without dropping to a panel we would not warrant.
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 the budget is the deciding factor, the Risen 475W is the cheapest way onto your roof that we are still happy to put our name on. All three use N-type TOPCon cells and all three are 475W, so this is a choice about build quality, warranty support and where the panel came from, 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 Risen. 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.
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
A licensed electrician checks your roof, switchboard and meter, and you get a fixed written quote the same day. No salesperson, no free design that is really a sales call.