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Best solar panels

By Simon Sage Published January 26, 2022

Solar panels are a great addition to any home, but it takes a bit of work to find the right ones. You’ll need to consider whether you’ll be off-grid, how much sun you’re anticipating, your total home energy needs, and how much battery storage you’ll want. With the right solar panels, you’ll be able to efficiently capture sunlight and keep your home humming with renewable energy.

We’re sorting through these panels based on warranty, cost per watt, efficiency, and temperature coefficient.

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Further reading

LG NeON 2

NeON 2 Bifacial(updated version)

LG is widely regarded as one of the best solar manufacturers there is, and it’s easy to see why. The efficiency of their panels can break 21%, while others hover closer to 16%. The bifacial layout allows these panels to soak up indirect light from their underside, which helps you maximize your power input on overcast days. It’s especially useful in snowing conditions where the top of the panel may be covered, but the snow is still reflecting a bunch of light underneath. The 25-year warranty gives you peace of mind that once installed, they’ll last for the long haul.

REC Solar Alpha

This is the REC Alpha Series (ENG)

REC Solar is well-known for the robust testing of its solar panels, and as such has developed a reputation for reliability. The frame of the Alpha series panel can support loads of up to 7,000 Pa, and maintain a guaranteed 92% power output in its 25th year of usage. REC has eliminated soldering, which can degrade over time and cut connections, while increasing the wire count through the panels to improve electrical flow.

Panasonic EverVolt

How Panasonic EverVolt™ Works

Panasonic has made a name for itself in solar panels thanks to high temperature coefficients. This means its panels can keep operating at peak efficiency even in higher temperatures which could affect performance. While many solar panel manufacturers have this coefficient as high as -0.5%, Panasonic can get up to -0.26%. Panasonic solar panels generally enjoy efficiency rates between 19% and 20%, and this 380W EverVolt model goes up to 21.7%. EverVolt solar panels play nice with Panasonic’s energy storage solution and companion mobile app, providing a seamless transition from the sun beating down on your roof to charging your phone.

SunPower Equinox A-Series

Introducing A-Series Solar Panels: The Next Big Step in Solar

SunPower gives other solar panel options a run for their money when it comes to efficiency. It offers panels that can reach up to 22.7% efficiency, which makes them a great choice when you have limited room. SunPower offers the whole end-to-end experience including installation, battery storage, and a mobile app to manage the system once it’s all set up. The company takes particular pride in its mounting solution which minimizes the visibility of cabling.

Canadian Solar HiHero

Canadian Solar and Clenergy @ The Smart Energy Lab

Canadian Solar provides high-quality solar panels at very reasonable prices. You can expect to pay as little as $2.70 per watt. Canadian Solar’s latest offering provides highly competitive efficiency and temperature coefficient rates to other leaders in the solar space. It has also made efforts to minimize the effects of microfractures in the panel which can otherwise put a dent into performance.

Solar panel shopping tips

What is the longest-lasting solar panel?

Many solar panel warranties last for 25 years, and are expected to last well beyond that timeframe. Even after 20 years of use, you can expect solar panels to continue to operate at 90% of their starting output.

How many solar panels are needed to run a house?

The number of solar panels needed in a home will vary depending on its location, energy usage, and the solar panels used. Assuming average use and capacity, you can expect to need between 25 and 30 panels to keep your home completely powered by solar.

How many solar panels are needed to power a room?

In addition to the factors mentioned previously, figuring out the power usage per room will vary based on the room type. You could estimate that it would take between seven and eight solar panels to power a single room on average.

Do you really save money with solar panels?

Solar panels absolutely save you money in the long run. Depending on electricity prices and your solar set-up, solar panels can effectively pay for themselves after between five and ten years.

That should provide a baseline of options to work with when building out a solar array that can keep your smart home working worry-free. Solar panels are a long-term investment, but it’s a great move for the environment and one that will ultimately pay off.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Simon Sage is a green tech contributor at Digital Trends. He looks at all sorts of devices that can help reduce emissions through electrification, like power stations, solar panels, smart thermostats, and LED lighting. He's also keen on exploring right to repair and sustainable transportation.

Simon started journalism 17 years ago in the mobile tech space, covering the meteoric rise and fall of BlackBerry. Since then he's dipped his toe in mobile gaming, app reviews, and sponsored content. He's been to his fair share of trade shows, such as Mobile World Congress, the Consumer Electronics Show, E3 (RIP), the Game Developer Conference, and a smattering of smaller shows. He's done multiple TV interviews, the most surreal of which was explaining how Pokémon Go works on a morning show. Simon's also hosted over 100 podcast episodes.

Previous publications include BlackBerry Cool, IntoMobile, and Mobile Nations sites like Android Central, iMore, CrackBerry, and Windows Central.

Simon's based in Ottawa, Ontario, where he is constantly clawing against the gravitational pull of becoming a government drone. He studied English at Carleton University there, including a stint at Lancaster University in the UK. He has since levelled up his education in sustainability through the Climatebase platform. Simon spends way too much of his free time playing games, especially Magic: The Gathering.

Smart Home

Best standing desk deals: Plenty of options under $200

The CorLiving standing desk converter extended on a desktop.

Whether you’ve been shopping the best laptop deals or already have a laptop you enjoy, you’re going to need a comfortable place to do your work. Any of the best standing desks make a great option, and right now there are a lot of standing desks available at a discount. We’ve tracked down what we feel are today’s best standing desk deals and you can find them all below. For the times you’d prefer to sit you can also check out today’s best office chair deals, and if you’re looking for some savings to place on top of your desk check out all of the Dell laptop deals, Lenovo laptop deals, HP laptop deals, and MacBook deals going on right now.
MoNiBloom mobile work station — $54 $60 10% off

You can get into the standing desk game for dirt cheap with the MoNiBloom mobile work station. Its height is adjustable across a wide range and it has a thickened stainless steel frame for durability. This standing desk may be small and simple, but it's built to be sturdy and accommodate you in all kinds of different rooms. This is the perfect standing desk if you don’t have a stationary place you prefer to work, as it’s small enough to tuck into a closet and has wheels to easily maneuver from place to place.

Smart Home

Best Nest thermostat deals: New and refurbished starting at $26

amazon slashes prices on google nest smart thermostats for black friday thermostat e 1

There’s a lot of great smart home tech out there, and one of the more popular devices you’ll come across is Google’s Nest Thermostat. We’re seeing a lot of smart home deals available today, and they include things like router deals, security camera deals, and Amazon Echo deals. But also among them are Nest Thermostat deals, and we’ve wrangled up all of the best Nest Thermostat deals to take a look at right now. Read onward for all of the details on how to save on new and refurbished Nest Thermostats, and if you’re looking for further savings on household tech be sure to drop by today’s air fryer deals, Instant Pot deals, and coffee maker deals.
Google Nest Temperature Sensor — $26 $39 33% off

The Google Nest Temperature Sensor is a great device to add to your home if you already have a Google Nest Thermostat. Most homes aren’t the same temperature in every room, and Nest Temperature Sensor can communicate with a Nest Thermostat which rooms should be a certain temperature at different times throughout the day. All you have to do is place it on a shelf or on the wall. You can also add multiple Google Nest Temperature Sensors throughout your home to create an efficient heating and cooling network.

Smart Home

Best cordless drill early Black Friday deals: DeWalt and more

A DeWalt drill being used.

Update 11/11/24: We know that having good home tools is important -- and how expensive they can get -- which is why we're excited to see a lot of great early Black Friday deals on cordless drills. With this update, we've added a couple of new drills that we found, as well as updated all the previous pricing on deals so you're getting the latest information. We should also mention that it's worth checking back as we update this list regularly with new and better deals.

If you're buying anything this Black Friday, there's a big chance you might want a drill/driver to go with it. A drill/driver is one part drill, one part (screw)driver, and it can help out in many situations. For example, say you take part in one of these early Black Friday TV deals, you very well might want to wall mount it. Then, say you grab an easy coffee maker from Keurig's early Black Friday deals. An extra side table in your study would sure go nice with that and a drill/driver could very well make the table's construction much easier.
Really, with so so many of your early Black Friday purchases, there might be a chance to pick up a cordless drill or driver and get to work. As such, we've compiled a list of the best cordless drill deals throughout Black Friday deals that are available now, so you can get a head start on prepping for the savings that are to come. You might also want to check out these early Black Friday power tool deals for a few more options, too.