Jinko Solar panels review 2023: Number one

Solar market is a competitive one, but someone had to come out on top. For the last 5 years that someone has been Jinko Solar, the largest PV modules manufacturer in the world from Shanghai. What made Jinko Solar the leader and what makes its panels so special? Let’s take a close look at this brand in our Jinko Solar panels review.

Jinko Solar uses N-type cells and tiling ribbons

Jinko Solar actively works with n-type cells and tries different panel designs with them. Historically, p-type cells were more popular. Engineers designed panels with the idea of using them in space, and p-type cells are more resistant to space radiation and degradation. While most manufacturers still make p-type cell panels only, some companies turned to n-type cells because of their higher efficiency and better performance at high temperatures. N-type cells also lose less power in the first year of operation: only 1% maximum instead of more standard 2-3% degradation of p-type cells.

Chinese engineers also introduced circular and tiling ribbons in the Jinko Solar Tiger series. Circular ribbons are basically wires that replace traditional ribbon busbars. They increase light absorption of a panel. Solar cells in a Tiger module slightly overlap each other, like roof tiles, and tiling ribbons hold them together. This shortens cell gaps, increases the active surface of a panel and improves performance in low-light conditions by 5%.

Jinko Solar panels: Staying cutting-edge

Jinko Solar engineers do not shy away from trying out all the latest technologies in their panels and constantly come up with new ones. They had immense success with their n-type cells and set a world record with them in October 2021, achieving 25.4% conversion efficiency. Besides, they make use of half-cut cell design, PERC technology and their own tiling ribbon innovation. All of that makes Jinko Solar panels modern and very efficient. The latest models from Chinese brands show energy conversion rates as high as 22%.

What probably made Jinko Solar panels so popular is their low cost. The PV modules from Chinese brands come at around $0.5-$0.8. The brand claims that it manages to keep the prices low by keeping the production almost fully automated.

Jinko Solar offers a 12-year product warranty, but there are certain models that get a 25-year product warranty. Besides, there is also a performance warranty that generally lasts 25 years and some modules receive a 30-year output warranty. Jinko Solar modules lose around 0.55% power per year which is slightly better than average.

Jinko Solar's product line is fairly wide. The brand offers panels both for commercial and residential installations, n-type cell panels as well as more common p-type cell modules. The difference between the two is that N-type cells degrade less in the first year in service: no more than 1% loss of initial output instead of 2-3% with p-type cells. Panels with n-type solar cells are also more efficient and perform slightly better at high temperatures.

Jinko Solar: pros

Let’s talk about the advantages that Jinko Solar products possess. They include:
• Low cost. Jinko Solar panels prices are among the lowest: their PV modules come at around $0.5 to $0.8 per watt.
• High efficiency. The use of n-type cells and latest technologies like PERC, multi busbars and half-cut cell design allows Jinko Solar engineers to make their panels as efficient as it really gets. The most advanced panels from Jinko Solar reach a 22% energy conversion rate.
• Good performance in bad weather. Tiling ribbon technology improves production of Jinko Solar panels in low-light conditions by 5%, compared to conventional modules.

Jinko Solar: cons

However, there isn’t a brand without weaknesses. When it comes to Jinko Solar, here are the points of concern that we’ve found:
• Generic product warranties. Warranties for most models last for 12-15 years, which is fine, but not great. However, according to the warranty guide from the company, there are panels that now come with a solid 25-year product warranty.
• Very basic mechanical tolerance. Most Jinko Solar panels are rated to withstand 2400 Pa of wind load which is roughly equivalent to 140 mph wind. It’s enough in most circumstances, but people living in Tornado alley, for example, might need something sturdier.
• Reputation issues. In 2021, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection started blocking import of Jinko Solar products because the company was accused of the use of forced Uyghur labor. That’s why Jinko Solar panels have been hard to come by in the USA recently.

Jinko Solar panels overview: for home and business

Jinko Solar offers panels for all kinds of applications, residential or commercial. Here's what our solar expert thinks about them

Alexey Kruglov

A1SolarStore CEO

Jinko Solar has a funny tendency to name its panels after the animals which honestly makes it easier for me to distinguish them. Despite the fact that Chinese engineers for some reason specify that their panels have 60 or 72 cells, all of the modern Jinko Solar models feature half-cut cell design. Thus, you can look at them as 120 and 144-cell panels respectively.

Cheetah HC 60M – Good home choice

Cheetah is a fairly simple panel for residential installations. It provides up to 345 Watt power output with up to 20.45% efficiency. This is an older model: a traditional 5 busbar solar cell is used here instead of tiling ribbon design. The panel is fully protected from Potential Induced Degradation (PID) which was a huge problem for panels in wet areas several years ago. Cheetah has a 12-year product warranty and 25-year performance warranty: it retains over 83% of its output after 25 years.

Tiger N-Type 60TR – Tiger style

Here we have a panel with n-type solar cells. You can immediately see that the efficiency is much higher than standard numbers for residential panels: up to 21.8% conversion rate for 380W output. The panel loses only 1% of its initial power output in the first year in service whereas p-type cell panels usually degrade by 2-3%. The panel comes with a 15-year product warranty and a 30-year performance warranty. The engineers estimate the annual degradation to be lower than 0.4%, and by the end of year 30 the panel should retain over 87.4% of its output.

Tiger Neo – N-type cells in action

Tiger Neo is a panel with a huge power output that reaches 615 Watt in Standard Test Conditions. The efficiency of this module goes as high as 22%. The panel has 156 half-cut n-type cells and it’s particularly large: 97 × 44.6 inches. It is best suited for commercial and industrial installations. Tiger Neo comes with 12/30 years warranties for product and output. The panel retains over 87.4% of its production by the year 30.

A1SolarStore recommends Jinko Solar Eagle G2 385W

This is one of the older Jinko Solar panels, but it’s still a great panel for commercial and residential systems. Jinko Solar Eagle G2 is a 144-cell monocrystalline module that provides 385 Watts of power output with 19.42% efficiency. Chinese engineers use half-cut cell design and PERC technology to increase the production levels. The panel comes with 10-year product warranty and 25-year warranty for performance.

A1SolarStore verdict: Jinko Solar deserves to be the first

Our Jinko Solar panel review is nearing the closure. Let’s round up what we’ve learned so far.
• Jinko Solar is a Chinese brand with headquarters in Shanghai.
• It has been the largest solar manufacturer in the world for the last 5 years.
• Its engineers experiment a lot with N-type cells and tiling ribbon cell design.
• The panels from Jinko Solar are modern and highly efficient: up to 22% conversion rate.
• PV modules are relatively cheap and come at around $0.5-$0.8 per watt.
• Generally, Jinko Solar issues a 12-year product warranty for its panels, though some models have a 25-year warranty.
• Panels get a 25-year warranty for performance (30-year for certain models). Their average annual degradation rate is 0.55%.
• Panels with n-type cells show lower degradation rate in the first year of service – no more than 1%. Some of them retain over 87% after 30 years.
• Though Jinko Solar panels are said to have 60/72 cells, almost all models feature half-cut cell design.

Looking at what Jinko Solar managed to do so far, we aren’t surprised that the brand took a lead on the market. The panels are cheap, powerful and quality enough, and that's what makes them so popular all around the world. On that note we end our Jinko Solar panel review 2022 – but we will be back with more.

Andrey Gorichenski

Senior Editor

Andrey had been a news editor and freelance writer for a number of medias before joining A1SolarStore team. Climate change and its impact on people's lives has always been among his interests and it partially explains his degree in Philosophy and Ethics.

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