Mission Solar
Mission Solar offers some of the most affordable solar panels on the market, retailing at just $0.65 per watt before installation costs. A 25-year workmanship warranty and products made in the USA make this solar panel company a top choice for any home.
Our rating: 4.5 out of 5
Best for: American-made
Average cost per watt: $2.46
Mission Solar at a glance
Mission Solar offers reasonably priced solar panels made in the United States that produce high power outputs. Its products are among the top solar panels on the market.
Fast facts
- Mission Solar designs, engineers and manufactures solar panels in San Antonio, Texas.
- The company’s two residential product lines include its MSE PERC 66 and MSE PERC 108HC solar panels.
- Mission Solar’s residential solar panels produce up to 410 watts of power.
What we like
Mission Solar’s panels have a 410-watt maximum output and efficiency ratings that reach 21%. Its panels have a positive power tolerance, +0/+3%, which means they’ll perform as advertised. Mission Solar’s panels come with a strong product warranty, covering workmanship and installation for 25 years. (Many solar companies offer only 12-year product warranties.)
The company’s solar panels are also affordable, falling below the $2.82 average-per-watt cost for an installed residential solar system. Mission Solar is one of the few solar brands that manufactures its products in the United States.
What we don’t like
While we like the quality of Mission Solar’s solar panels, we don’t like that the company doesn’t sell inverters or solar batteries. This means you’ll need to go to a different source for these essential accessories.
Additionally, though the company’s solar panels produce excellent power output, their annual degradation rate is 0.58%, slightly higher than the 0.25% that we see in its competitors. That explains why the company only guarantees 85% power output in year 25.
Mission Solar pros and cons
Mission Solar offers solar panels that produce high output and excellent efficiency ratings (for its half-cut cell solar panels) at a more affordable price than other companies with similar performance. Customers will also like the 25-year product warranty.
While most solar panel companies build their solar panels through a third-party company located outside the United States, Mission Solar designs its panels in-house and manufactures them in San Antonio, Texas.
Pros
- All products made in the United States
- Covers workmanship and product defects for 25 years
- Better-than-average efficiency rate for some panels
Cons
- Doesn’t offer backup batteries and inverters
- Higher annual degradation rate than competitors
How much does Mission Solar cost?
Mission Solar Panels retail for around 65 cents per watt (uninstalled), making them some of the most affordable solar panels available.
You can expect to pay around $2.46 per watt for a Mission Solar system fully installed, well under the $2.82 per watt average in the United States. This means you can expect to pay around $14,760 for a 6 kW Mission Solar panel system installed, before factoring in the federal solar tax credit. Exactly how much it will cost to install Mission Solar depends on other factors, including roof shape and home’s location.
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Mission solar panel cost*
|
|
|---|---|
| 4 kW | $9,840 |
| 5 kW | $12,300 |
| 6 kW | $14,760 |
| 7 kW | $17,220 |
| 8 kW | $19,680 |
| 9 kW | $22,140 |
| 10 kW | $24,600 |
* Cost information is based on the average cost per watt. Actual prices may vary, so get a quote from your local solar installer for the most accurate quote.
Mission Solar products and services
Mission Solar’s products are limited to solar panels. The company does not sell its own line of inverters or solar batteries, meaning you’ll need to use a different manufacturer for these accessories. While the company’s power production guarantee covers a lower power output than most, it partially makes up for that with an excellent workmanship warranty.
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Offered?
|
|
|---|---|
| Solar panels | Yes |
| Solar shingles | No |
| Microinverter | No |
| String inverter | No |
| Solar battery | No |
| Power production guarantee | 25 years |
| Workmanship warranty | 25 years |
| Solar battery warranty | N/A |
| Micro inverter warranty | N/A |
What solar panels does Mission Solar offer?
Mission Solar offers two different lines of solar panels for residential use: its PERC 108HC panels and PERC 66 solar panels. All of Mission Solar’s solar panels are monocrystalline. Its PERC 108HC line, which uses more advanced half-cut cell technology to produce greater output, produces between 400 and 410 watts with efficiency ratings hovering around 21%.
The PERC 66 solar panels, named for the 66 solar cells included on each panel, have a slightly lower power output ranging from 390 to 400 watts and efficiency ratings of around 19.7%. They also have an all-black appearance giving them a sleek, modern look.
Mission Solar also offers a PERC 72 model, which features 72 solar cells and an output of 425 watts. However, this type of solar panel is much larger than the PERC 66 and PERC 108HC panels and is designed for commercial and utility solar arrays.
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Power output
|
Efficiency
|
Temperature coefficient
|
Annual degradation rate
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PERC 108HC | 400 - 410 watts |
20.5 - 21% |
-0.343% |
0.55% |
| PERC 66 | 390 - 400 watts |
19.4 - 19.9% |
-0.367% |
0.58% |
| 144HC Bifacial PERC | 545 - 555 watts |
21.30 - 21.69% |
-0.34% |
0.45% |
| 144HC TOPCon | 580 - 590 watts |
22.47 - 22.86% |
-0.30% |
0.40% |
Mission Solar’s solar panel performance
While Mission Solar’s panels are similar in power output to other solar providers, they’re not among the elite when it comes to durability. The company’s product lines have efficiency ratings that range between 19% and 21%. The highest-performing solar panels on the market have efficiency ratings of around 22%.
Mission Solar’s panels also have a degradation rate of 0.55% or 0.58% after year one, which is a little higher than most other solar panel companies’ degradation rates, which range from 0.25% to 0.50%. As a result, Mission Solar only guarantees a power output of 85% at year 25, well below the 92% output guarantees that companies like REC Solar and Panasonic offer at the same time.
Mission Solar product warranties
Mission Solar provides a 25-year warranty for solar panels manufactured on or after Aug. 1, 2019, assuming the panels are installed and used correctly. Mission Solar’s 25-year warranty on materials and workmanship exceeds the 12-year warranty that other national solar panel companies offer. It has a 12-year warranty for older solar panels manufactured before Aug. 1, 2019.
The company’s power warranty guarantees output at 85% at year 25. Competitor solar panel companies, such as REC Solar, Maxeon and Panasonic, offer output guarantees of 92% in year 25.
How does Mission Solar compare with competitors?
Mission Solar’s low prices, coupled with the high output of its solar panels, make it an attractive option for those looking for an affordable solar panel. However, customers should know other aspects of Mission Solar’s products and services. The company’s solar panels have a higher-than-average degradation rate, so they’ll produce less of their original power further down the road than some solar panels. Panasonic and REC Solar, for example, offer similar power output but at a much lower degradation rate.
Mission Solar vs. competitors
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Our score (out of 5 stars)
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Annual degradation rate
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Panel types offered
|
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Mission Solar | 4.5 |
0.40% - 0.58% |
Monocrystalline, PERC |
| Panasonic Solar | 5.0 |
0.25% - 0.5% |
Monocrystalline, HJT, PERC, IBC, P-Type, N-Type |
| Jinko Solar | 4.2 |
0.40% - 0.60% |
Monocrystalline, PERC, N-type |
| Canadian Solar | 3.8 |
0.35% - 0.55% |
Monocrystalline, HJT, PERC, N-Type, Bifacial |
| ZNShine Solar | 3.7 |
0.40% - 0.55% |
Monocrystalline, polycrystalline |
| LONGi Solar | 3.6 |
0.40% - 0.55% |
P-type TOPCON, N-type TOPCON, N-type HJT, P-type HJT |
Methodology
Our review of the top national solar manufacturers is based on extensive research. To find the top solar panels, we compared the specs of 170 models from 15 solar companies. To rank them, we compared wattage, price, range durability, warranty and efficiency to produce a fair and balanced assessment. We then took the data we collected and weighted it based on solar panel output, cost, efficiency and more.
