How we rate.
The EnergyUpgrade Score is a number out of 10 built from manufacturers' own documents, using rules anyone can check. This page explains the method; each product has its own detailed page and PDF.
Method version 2.2, 7 October 2026. Product data checked 16 September 2026.
- Solar panels
- 41 series
- 1,234 approved models, 22 ranked
- Inverters
- 71 series
- 2,501 approved models, 59 ranked
- Home batteries
- 34 series
- 2,339 approved models, 28 ranked
- Heat pump hot water
- 33 series
- 301 approved models, 30 ranked
Five rules we don't bend.
01
Only what's published
Every product score comes from the manufacturer's own datasheet or Australian warranty document, for a product on the Clean Energy Council approved list. No marketing claims, no star ratings.
02
Rules, not opinions
Each criterion turns one published value into a score out of 10 with a rule anyone can read. Nobody types a score in by hand.
03
Missing means missing
If a datasheet doesn't state something, we show 'not stated' and it scores zero. We never fill a gap with a guess or an average.
04
Price stays out
Prices change weekly and depend on your installer, so the score is about the product. Your quotes cover the price.
05
Nobody pays to rank
No manufacturer, distributor or installer can pay for a score, a pick or a position on a list.
From datasheet to score, in six steps.
The same steps for every product. Only the criteria and weights change, and each product page lists them in full.
- 1GateEvery version must be on the current Clean Energy Council approved list, and we must hold its datasheet. Expired or withdrawn products aren't listed.
- 2GroupModels are grouped into the series they're sold as, such as Jinko Tiger Neo or Sungrow SH-RS. A series is rated on its best home version; every other version is listed with its own score.
- 3ReadWe read each value as printed, for example '-0.29 %/°C', then check the number appears in the PDF itself. Where it doesn't, we lower the confidence.
- 4ScoreEach value maps to 0–10 on a straight line between two published anchors, or through a published table for things like IP ratings.
- 5WeightCriterion scores are combined with the category weights. A value the datasheet doesn't state scores zero, which also stops a thin datasheet out-scoring a complete one.
- 6RankHome series are ranked when their documents state at least 65% of what we weigh. The rest stay listed, with the reason they aren't ranked.
The method for each product.
Every criterion, rule and weight, how we read the documents, a worked example and how brands are rated. Each one is also a PDF you can keep.
Solar panels
A panel's job is to keep producing for 25 years or more on a hot Australian roof. So we weigh what the maker guarantees about output and defects, and how the panel copes with heat, above peak wattage.
- Output guaranteed at year 25 25%
- Product warranty 25%
- Heat performance 20%
- Efficiency 20%
- Performance warranty length 10%
Inverters
An inverter runs every day for 10 to 15 years, often on a hot wall. We weigh how much solar it keeps, how well it handles split roofs and heat, how much panel it accepts, and how well it's sealed.
- Efficiency 30%
- MPPTs for split roofs 20%
- Heat tolerance 20%
- Room for more panels 15%
- Weather sealing 15%
Home batteries
A home battery is judged on how long its warranty really protects you, how well it copes with heat and weather, and whether it can grow with you. We read each brand's Australian warranty document as well as the datasheet.
- Warranty that lasts 30%
- Weather sealing 25%
- Room to grow 25%
- Heat tolerance 20%
Heat pump hot water
A heat pump water heater should save as much energy as possible, keep working on frosty mornings, last, and not disturb you or the neighbours. We start from the government's own savings figures for every model, then add the warranty, cold-weather limit, noise and refrigerant from the manufacturer's documents.
- Energy savings (official) 30%
- Warranty 25%
- Cold-weather operation 15%
- Quietness 15%
- Refrigerant 15%
What the score bands mean
- 9.0Excellent8.5 and above
- 8.0Very good7.5 to 8.4
- 7.0Good6.5 to 7.4
- 5.0FairBelow 6.5
Data confidence
- High
- Australian datasheet, verified against the approved list, states at least 85% of what we weigh, and every scored value appears in the PDF.
- Medium
- A global edition of the datasheet, a small gap in the data, or a value we couldn't find printed in the sheet we hold.
- Low
- The datasheet doesn't clearly match every model in the series, or leaves out more than a third of what we weigh. Low-confidence series can't be a pick.
How brands are rated.
A datasheet tells you what a product promises, not how a brand behaves. So each brand is rated separately for panels, inverters, batteries and heat pumps, combining its best products with independent evidence: what owners say (SolarQuotes owner reviews, plus ProductReview.com.au for heat pumps), lab testing, ACCC recalls, installer votes, installation data and Australian support. Owner ratings are weighted by how many reviews sit behind them, so a handful of five-star reviews can't outrank thousands of good ones.
See every brand- 45% inverters, batteries30% panels40% heat pumpsProduct scoresAverage datasheet score of the brand's two best home series in the category, the ones an installer would actually quote. Older ranges still on the approved list don't drag a brand down.
- 15% inverters, batteries15% panels20% heat pumpsOwner reviewsWhat owners say across the brand's products in this category: SolarQuotes owner reviews for panels, inverters and batteries, and ProductReview.com.au plus SolarQuotes for heat pumps. Reviews are averaged by count, and every brand is pulled towards 4.0 stars as if it had 30 more reviews at that level, so a handful of perfect reviews can't beat thousands of good ones. 3.0 stars or lower scores 0, 5.0 scores 10. Listings for a range the brand no longer sells are shown but not counted, and a listing about the company in general counts half.
- 15% inverters, batteries20% panels15% heat pumpsTrack recordPanels: Kiwa PVEL Top Performer status, 2 points for each of the 2024, 2025 and 2026 scorecards plus up to 4 for total editions (10 or more scores 4). Inverters and batteries: up to 7 points for years selling in Australia (8 or more scores 7) and 3 for a stock-exchange listing. Heat pumps, which should last 10 to 15 years: up to 7 points for years trading in Australia (20 or more scores 7) and 3 for a listing. ACCC recalls of that kind of product take points off: 3 for one covering a range we list, 2 for another, doubled when the brand offers no remedy. A brand in liquidation scores 0.
- 15% inverters, batteries25% panels15% heat pumpsInstaller and market standingAverage of two independent results, each using the better of this year's result and last year's (last year's counts 80%). The SolarQuotes Installers' Choice vote: 1st scores 10, 2nd 8, 3rd 7, 4th or 5th 6. SunWiz awards from Clean Energy Regulator installation data: No. 1 for homes scores 10, No. 1 in another segment or 2nd–3rd 8, top 5 or fastest growing 6. For panels, BloombergNEF Tier 1 status scores 6 when there's no SunWiz award. For heat pumps, which have no installation-data award, the second result is popularity from the number of owner reviews: 10 reviews scores 2, 100 scores 5, 1,000 scores 8.
- 10% inverters, batteries10% panels10% heat pumpsAustralian supportPublished Australian office 4 points, local support phone 3, local service email 2, more than one office 1.
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