Updated on 21/06/2016

Canadian Solar

Canadian Solar Inc. is a top Global Module Supplier. Canadian Solar is a vertically integrated company, providing ingots, wafers, solar cells, solar modules, solar power systems and specialized solar products. The Company is headquartered in Canada with factories in China and Ontario. Canadian Solar operates in 11 countries: Canada, Germany, Italy, Japan, Korea, Spain,Australia, the United States, Singapore, HongKong and China. It is listed on NASDAQ Exchange. Canadian Solar has a wide customer base covering over 50 countries.

The company has seven wholly-owned manufacturing subsidiaries with a total combined facility space of over to 260,000 sqm and a module capacity of 2.05 GW. The total revenue generated in 2011 was $1.9 billion and Shipments of 1323 MW in 2011.

Canadian Solar provides the solar industry with the widest PV product lines from 0.03W to 305W. Canadian Solar also offers customized PV products and OEM service around the world. The Company sells a wide variety of solar panels unlike other producers. The Solar Panel Selling Price is also quite cheap.

Types of Canadian Solar Panels

The Canadian Solar Modules can be broadly classified into:

1) MaxPower

These 40mm modules come with 72 cells and are designed to withstand up to 5400 Pa load and harsh climate. Other specifications include:

They are further divided into:

i) CS6X P – These are 16.16%-16.94% efficient, 72 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 310-325W , weighing 22kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

ii) CS6U P – These are 16.2%-16.97% efficient, 72 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 315-330W , weighing ~22kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

iii) CS6U M – These are monocrystalline modules with bus bar technology, with efficiency in between 16.72% and 17.23%. They come with wattage varying between 325-335W, weighing ~22kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

2) Dymond

Also known as double-glass module, it uses heat-strengthened glass and are frameless. These panels can withstand high humidity, high temperatures, sandstorms, ultraviolet and corrosion and hence called diamond (the hardest object). Other specifications include:

They are further divided into:

i) CS6X–P-FG – These are 16.14%-16.65% efficient, 72 celled double glass polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 315-325W, weighing 27.5kg.

ii) CS6X–M-FG – These are 16.65%-17.16% efficient, 72 celled double glass monocrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 325-335W, weighing 27.5kg.

iii) CS6K–P-FG – These are 15.88%-16.5% efficient, 60 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 260-270W, weighing 23kg.

3) SuperPower

These 40mm modules come with 72 cells and are designed to withstand up to 5400 Pa load and harsh climate. Other specifications include:

These can be further divided into:

i) CS6X-P – These are 16.16%-16.94% efficient, 72 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 310-325W, weighing 22kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

ii) CS6U-M – These are 16.72%-17.23% efficient, 72 celled monocrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 325-335W, weighing 22.4kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

iii) MaxPower2 (CS6U-M) – These modules use five busbar cell technology that increases the overall module power output. These are 16.72%-17.23% efficient, 72 celled monocrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 325-335W, weighing 22.4kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

iv) CS6U-P – These are 16.2%-16.97% efficient, 72 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 315-330W, weighing 22.4kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

v) MaxPower2 (CS6U-P) – These modules use five busbar cell technology that increases the overall module power output. These are 16.2%-16.97% efficient, 72 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 315-330W, weighing 22.4kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

4) Quintech

These modules use five busbar cell technology that increases the overall module power output. Other specifications include:

They can be further bifurcated into:

i) CS6K-M – These modules use five busbar cell technology. These are 16.8%-17.41% efficient, 60 celled monocrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 275-285W, weighing 18.2kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

ii) CS6K-P – These modules use five busbar cell technology. These are 15.88%-16.8% efficient, 60 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 260-275W, weighing 18.2kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

5) All-Black

Especially designed for residential rooftops, these modules are all black panels with 60 cells. These 40mm modules are designed to withstand up to 5400 Pa load and harsh climate. Other specifications include:

These can be further classified into:

i) CS6K-M – These modules use five busbar cell technology. These are 16.8%-17.11% efficient, 60 celled dark monocrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 270-280W, weighing ~18kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

ii) CS6K-MS – These are 17.41% and 17.72% efficient, 60 celled monocrystalline modules and come with wattage 285W and 290W, weighing ~18kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

6) Standard/ Quartech

These modules use four busbar cell technology. These 40mm modules come with 60 cells and are designed to withstand up to 5400 Pa load. Other specifications include:

i) CS6P-P – These are 16.16-16.79% efficient, 60 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 260-270W, weighing ~18kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

ii) CS6K-P – These are 15.88-16.8% efficient, 60 celled polycrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 260-275W, weighing ~18kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

iii) CS6K-M – These are 16.8%-17.41% efficient, 60 celled monocrystalline modules and come with wattage varying between 275-285W, weighing ~18kg. They come with 25 years linear power output and 10 years product warranty.

Costs & Affordability

Canadian Solar is amongst the five most cheap solar panel brands in the world. Read Five Most Affordable Solar Panel Brands.

Canadian Solar is meticulous in the pursuit of testing and international accreditation of its facilities. The company  opened state-of-the-art solar PV Research Center in the Suzhou district of China in early 2009. The 1500 square meter facility is staffed by scientists, engineers and technicians focused on continuous improvement of efficiency of its products. The Research center is the only provincially accredited PV cell research center in China.

The Canadian Solar Photovoltaic Testing Lab was established in early 2008 to ensure international testing standards for solar panels, operating with a full accreditation according to ISO/IEC 17025. The Photovoltaic Testing Lab is equipped with a damp heat chamber, thermal cycling chamber, UV chamber, hotspot test equipment, IR camera, salt spray chambers and water spray chambers, where the following tests may be conducted: thermal cycling, damp heat, UV, hotspot, mechanical load, I-V performance, outdoor exposure, dry & wet hi-pot, bypass diode thermal, humidity freeze and robustness of terminations.

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