---
title: "AE Solar vs Solarfam - Brand Comparison | ComparePV"
description: "Compare AE Solar vs Solarfam solar panels: full portfolio, efficiency, cell technology breakdown, warranty terms and company background."
source: "https://comparepv.com/ae-solar-vs-solarfam"
---

# AE Solar vs Solarfam

AE Solar has the broader catalog (646 vs 0 models). AE Solar leans bifacial (63% of lineup).


## The two companies


| Attribute | AE Solar | Solarfam |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Country | Germany | Netherlands |
| Headquarters | Gersthofen | Nieuwegein |
| Founded | 2003 |  |
| Employees | 501-1000 |  |
| Annual capacity | 2+ GW/year |  |
| Tier 1 | yes |  |
| Listed |  |  |
| Website | [https://ae-solar.com](https://ae-solar.com) | [https://www.solarfam.nl](https://www.solarfam.nl) |

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...

Solarfam is a Dutch solar energy brand operating under the parent company Solmax New Energy B.V. The company distributes and sells solar panels, inverters, batteries, controllers, and water pump systems, targeting both residential and agricultural markets. It positions itself as a sales and integration brand sourcing...


## Catalog & Power


| Measure | AE Solar | Solarfam | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Panel Models | 646 | 0 | +646 |
| Max Power | 730 W | 0 W | +730 W |
| Avg Power | 489 W | 0 W | +489 W |


## Efficiency


| Measure | AE Solar | Solarfam | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Max Efficiency | 24.43% | - |  |
| Avg Efficiency | 21.11% | - |  |


## Reliability & Warranty


| Measure | AE Solar | Solarfam | Margin |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Avg Temp Coefficient | -0.312%/°C | - |  |
| Bifacial Share | 405 (63%) | 0 (0%) | +63 pp |
| Avg Warranty | 29.7 yrs | - |  |


## Efficiency distribution

AE Solar skews to higher efficiency: 9% of lineup is 23%+


| Efficiency band | AE Solar | Solarfam |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \<20% | 74 (11.5%) | 0 |
| 20-21% | 171 (26.5%) | 0 |
| 21-22% | 142 (22.0%) | 0 |
| 22-23% | 199 (30.8%) | 0 |
| 23%+ | 60 (9.3%) | 0 |


## Power distribution

AE Solar offers more 600W+ panels (13% of lineup)


| Power band | AE Solar | Solarfam |
| --- | --- | --- |
| \<400W | 78 (12.1%) | 0 |
| 400-499W | 329 (50.9%) | 0 |
| 500-599W | 154 (23.8%) | 0 |
| 600-699W | 55 (8.5%) | 0 |
| 700W+ | 30 (4.6%) | 0 |


## Cell technology

Dominant cell tech: **TOPCon** (54%)


| Technology | AE Solar | Solarfam |
| --- | --- | --- |
| TOPCon | 349 (54.0%) | 0 |
| PERC | 245 (37.9%) | 0 |
| Back Contact | 21 (3.3%) | 0 |
| N-type | 17 (2.6%) | 0 |
| BIPV | 9 (1.4%) | 0 |
| HJT | 5 (0.8%) | 0 |


## Top panels, AE Solar


| # | Model | Power | Efficiency | Temp. coefficient | Technology |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | [CME-132BDS-730](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132bds-730) | 730 | 23.5 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 2 | [CME-132BDS-730W](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132bds-730w) | 730 | 23.5 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 3 | [CME-132BDS-725](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132bds-725) | 725 | 23.4 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 4 | [CME-132-725W](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132-725w) | 725 | 23.4 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 5 | [CME-132BDS-725W](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132bds-725w) | 725 | 23.4 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 6 | [AE CME-132 720](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-ae-cme-132-720) | 720 | 23.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 7 | [CME-132BDS-720](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132bds-720) | 720 | 23.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 8 | [AE CME-132-720](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-ae-cme-132-720-1) | 720 | 23.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 9 | [CME-132-720W](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132-720w) | 720 | 23.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |
| 10 | [CME-132BDS-720W](https://comparepv.com/panel/ae-solar-cme-132bds-720w) | 720 | 23.2 | -0.290 | Monocrystalline |


## Summary

AE Solar is a German manufacturer founded in 2003 and headquartered in Königsbrunn, Bavaria, with production facilities in China, Georgia, and Turkey that give the company a combined annual manufacturing capacity of approximately 2.5 GW. As of Q1 2025, AE Solar holds BloombergNEF Tier 1 status for the sixteenth consecutive quarter, and was designated Europe's sole Tier 1 PV module manufacturer with high bankability in 2024 - its bankability rating climbed from 26% in 2023 to 50% in 2024, a jump that reflects growing confidence among institutional lenders and project financiers. Solarfam is the panel brand of Solmax New Energy B.V., a trading company registered in Utrecht, the Netherlands, which functions as a distributor and wholesaler rather than a vertically integrated manufacturer; it does not appear on any BloombergNEF Tier 1 list. By every institutional measure, AE Solar carries the stronger footprint.

AE Solar's confirmed product lineup spans TOPCon N-type modules in the Meteor series reaching up to 725 W, HJT heterojunction modules in the Comet series achieving efficiencies of up to 23.05%, and PERC modules for cost-sensitive applications. This technology breadth makes AE Solar a credible option across residential rooftop, commercial and industrial (C&I), and utility-scale ground-mount segments. Independent validation is solid: the company earned the Kiwa PVEL Top Performer Award in 2025 and a five-star rating from PV Magazine for the Meteor module, and backs its products with a 30-year product warranty that is considerably longer than the industry norm. Solarfam's publicized range centers on older-generation mono- and polycrystalline panels in the 180-300 Wp band, marketed toward caravan and yacht users, solar water-pumping, and small off-grid installations in areas without grid access - not mainstream grid-tied projects.

For most international buyers evaluating residential, C&I, or utility-scale procurement, AE Solar is the defensible default. Its Tier 1 bankability, rising institutional confidence score, verified independent test results, 30-year warranty, and multi-gigawatt manufacturing scale collectively reduce the financial and operational risks that define a 25-year solar asset. Solarfam addresses a narrower, budget-oriented niche and is not a like-for-like substitute in grid-connected contexts where module bankability and manufacturer longevity are material concerns. The two brands converge in relevance only for small off-grid or pumping applications; for anything requiring bankable modules they are not genuinely interchangeable.

Written by claude-sonnet from the figures above.


## Other comparisons

- [AE Solar vs A.B. Energy](https://comparepv.com/ae-solar-vs-a-b-energy)
- [AEET vs Solarfam](https://comparepv.com/aeet-vs-solarfam)
- [AE Solar vs AIKO](https://comparepv.com/ae-solar-vs-aiko)
- [AKCOME vs Solarfam](https://comparepv.com/akcome-vs-solarfam)
- [AE Solar vs ARTsolar](https://comparepv.com/ae-solar-vs-artsolar)
- [ASM vs Solarfam](https://comparepv.com/asm-vs-solarfam)


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Source: https://comparepv.com/ae-solar-vs-solarfam

Not in this file, on the page: the distributions above drawn as charts.