Canadian Solar vs Hounen Solar - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Canadian Solar has the broader catalog (292 vs 44 models). Canadian Solar leads on peak efficiency at 24.40%. Hounen Solar leans bifacial (86% 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
Canadian Solar Inc. is a global renewable energy company founded in 2001. Headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, it manufactures solar PV modules and provides battery energy storage solutions. The company also develops utility-scale solar power and battery energy storage projects.
- Founded
- 2001
- Headquarters
- Kitchener, Canada
- Annual capacity
- 51 GW/year
- Employees
- 17,113
- Listed
- NASDAQ: CSIQ
- Tier 1 bankable
- Yes
Hounen Solar (Zhejiang Haoneng Optoelectronics) is a Chinese solar PV module manufacturer with its U.S. operations branded as Hounen Solar America. The company produces solar panels for residential, commercial, and utility-scale applications, and in 2023 established a 1 GW module assembly facility in Orangeburg, South...
- Founded
- 2010
- Headquarters
- Haining, China
- Annual capacity
- 1-2 GW/year
- Employees
- 200-500
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
Canadian Solar skews to higher efficiency: 13% of lineup is 23%+
Hounen Solar offers more 600W+ panels (43% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (67%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>N-type</strong> (48%)
The flagships
Written summary
Canadian Solar is a Canadian manufacturer headquartered in Kitchener, Ontario, founded in 2001, and today ranks among the largest global suppliers of photovoltaic modules, with annual manufacturing capacity in the range of 50-60 GW and Tier 1 status confirmed by BloombergNEF, reflecting strong bankability for commercially financed projects. By the end of 2024 the company had shipped more than 133 GW of modules worldwide and is one of the leading suppliers of TOPCon cell technology, alongside ongoing development of HJT cells. Hounen Solar is a much younger brand, founded in 2022, operating a factory in Orangeburg, South Carolina, backed by roughly 33 million dollars in investment and targeting around 1 GW of annual production capacity - a scale not comparable to Canadian Solar, which holds a far stronger institutional footprint and a much longer track record.
Canadian Solar's portfolio spans the HiKu and BiHiKu lines for residential rooftops, commercial installations, and utility-scale ground-mount farms, plus the newer TOPHiKu series built on TOPCon technology, with power ratings up to roughly 665-670 Wp and efficiency approaching 25 percent, covering essentially every application segment. Hounen Solar produces half-cell and bifacial panels ranging from around 400 W for residential use up to roughly 600-720 W for larger installations, also using N-type TOPCon cells, with efficiency around 20-21.5 percent, a 12-year product warranty and a 25-year performance warranty guaranteeing about 85 percent of initial output - a shorter product warranty than many competitors remains a genuine drawback for this brand.
For most international buyers, particularly those seeking a low-risk, well-documented supplier for residential, commercial, or utility-scale projects, Canadian Solar is the safer default given its established market position, extensive reference base, and confirmed Tier 1 status across multiple independent rankings. Hounen Solar can be a reasonable option for projects located in the United States, where domestic manufacturing helps buyers avoid import tariffs, but its availability and service track record outside North America remain limited.
Generated by Claude Sonnet 5 · 2026-09-10
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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.