In our search for the best solar panel, we previously looked at the largest solar panel manufacturers in the world. But within the UK there are different brands that are also very popular, for example the most used brands by solar installers, or the most requested brands for quotes by consumers. It appears that although the top 10 global brands represent about a third of consumer quote requests, the 10 other popular UK brands represent a larger 40% of consumer quote requests.

Based on analysis of over 2400 consumer quote requests, CompareMySolar presents insights in the UK popularity of different best solar panel brands. It appears that the top 10 global brands represent about one third of requests, while there are 10 other popular brands in the UK that represent 40% of requests. The remaining quarter is divided between a whopping 63 panel brands, clearly showing the fragmentation of small panel manufacturers. The pie-chart above clearly shows the division.

Within the top 10 global brands (33% of Quote Requests), Sharp clearly has the best share due to a top-of-mind attitude with consumers driven by historical market-leadership in the UK. Large manufacturers like Suntech and Yingli are also having a good UK presence. Looking at the other top 7/10 global manufactures their share in the UK is relatively limited, which means global solar brands are not household names in the UK yet. Specifically First Solar is missing from the list, which is caused by their focus on non-domestic installations due to recycling regulations for their thin-film panels.

Looking at other 10 popular UK brands (40% of Quote Requests) to find the best solar panel, CompareMySolar made the below list for consumers in the UK. These 10 Popular brands have a combined share of 40% of all consumer UK quote requests. Non surprising, Sanyo is the clear top-of-mind brand here. Clear UK leadership in being a premium high-efficiency panel is driving a lot of consumer demand. Value for money panels are also clearly present, with the 6 brands of ET Solar, UpSolar, Propsolar, MageSolar, AstroEnergy and Kinve having a combined share of nearly 25%. Furthermore, those panels that are considered by installers as high quality panels are present through REC, Hyundai and Schott with a combined 6% share.

Concludingly, it is not only the global capacity of the solar panel manufacturer that defines what is the best solar panel. Local (UK) consumer demand is also a strong influence in what support and warranty can be expected by the installer and the manufacturer. Clearly, certain value for money brands and Sanyo are very important for the UK customer, hence we decide to include these brands in our comparison table. Other panel aspects that can be important when looking for the best solar panel are:

Best solar panels – High quality panels (Technical)
Best solar panels – What to avoid

We will discuss these subjects in blog posts over the next weeks. In the meantime you can already check which local installers use these 10 Popular UK Brands of solar panels by entering your postcode on www.CompareMySolar.co.uk