AE Solar vs Depozit Solar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
AE Solar has the broader catalog (646 vs 7 models). AE Solar leads on peak efficiency at 24.43%. AE Solar leans bifacial (63% of lineup).
Both catalogues are read from the manufacturers' own datasheets. A brand is not scored against the market here, only against the other brand on this page.
The two companies
AE Solar is a German Tier 1 manufacturer of high-efficiency photovoltaic (PV) modules. The company specializes in producing durable and innovative solar panels with German engineering standards, offering solutions for residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications. AE Solar operates in over 100 countries and...
- Founded
- 2003
- Headquarters
- Gersthofen, Germany
- Annual capacity
- 2+ GW/year
- Employees
- 501-1000
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Depozit Solar is a Romanian distributor of photovoltaic products, specializing in solar panels, inverters, and batteries for self-consumption solar energy systems. The company offers products from major brands such as JinkoSolar, Canadian Solar, and Huawei, serving both professional installers and individual...
- Headquarters
- Romania
Catalogue against catalogue
An average over a catalogue describes the range a manufacturer publishes, not the module you would buy. A brand with two flagship panels and eighty older ones averages worse than one that has retired its back catalogue.
What each of them builds
AE Solar skews to higher efficiency: 9% of lineup is 23%+
Depozit Solar offers more 600W+ panels (57% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (54%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (100%)
The flagships
Written summary
AE Solar is a German solar manufacturer founded in 2003 in Königsbrunn, Bavaria, by three brothers - Alexander, Victor, and Waldemar Maier. The company operates production facilities in China, Georgia, and Turkey, with a combined annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 2.5 GW. AE Solar has appeared on BloombergNEF's Global Tier 1 Solar Module Manufacturer list 16 times, most recently in Q1 2025, establishing it as one of the more bankable European-branded producers at the mid-tier of the global market. Depozit Solar, by contrast, is not a manufacturer. It is a small Romanian distributor based in Făgăraș, Brașov County, reselling panels from third-party brands including Jinko Solar, Canadian Solar, and LONGi. It holds no independent Tier 1 status, maintains no proprietary product line, and has no production capacity of its own. In institutional terms, AE Solar holds an overwhelmingly stronger footprint.
AE Solar's portfolio spans TOPCon and PERC cell technologies, with module power outputs ranging from roughly 415 W to over 700 W. The company serves residential rooftop, commercial and industrial, and utility-scale ground-mount segments, and differentiates itself with a 30-year product warranty - a notably longer commitment than the industry norm. Its bifacial TOPCon modules are particularly well suited to dual-gain ground installations. Depozit Solar's offer is shaped entirely by whatever its supplier brands have in stock at a given time, and its market positioning centers on serving Romanian buyers who need fast local access to panels, with delivery reportedly within 48 hours.
For any buyer seeking a warranted, bankable panel brand with a traceable technology roadmap, AE Solar is the clear default. It offers proprietary engineering, a verified Tier 1 track record, and an international service network. Depozit Solar occupies a fundamentally different role - it is a trade distributor, not a panel maker - and the two are not meaningfully comparable as manufacturers. A Romanian buyer sourcing Jinko or Canadian Solar panels locally through Depozit Solar would be purchasing a third-party product, not a Depozit Solar-branded module.
Generated by Claude Sonnet · 2026-05-14
Other brand comparisons
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Comparisons are computed from manufacturer datasheets held in the ComparePV database and may not reflect a brand's complete current lineup. Nothing on this page is paid placement.