Canadian Solar vs Huayao - solar panel manufacturer comparison
Canadian Solar has the broader catalog (292 vs 126 models). Huayao leads on peak efficiency at 24.80%. Huayao leans bifacial (74% 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
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
Huayao skews to higher efficiency: 26% of lineup is 23%+
Huayao offers more 600W+ panels (51% of lineup)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>PERC</strong> (67%)
Dominant cell tech: <strong>TOPCon</strong> (44%)
The flagships
Written summary
Canadian Solar was founded in 2001 and has been listed on NASDAQ since 2006, giving it a long public track record even though most of its manufacturing base sits in China. The company appears on S&P Global Commodity Insights premier list of Tier 1 Cleantech Companies for 2025 and reports production capacity of roughly 61 GW annually, placing it among the largest and most bankable module suppliers globally. Huayao PV, headquartered in Hohhot, Inner Mongolia, runs an integrated supply chain from wafers to modules with about 20 GW of annual capacity and briefly appeared on the Q1 2025 Tier 1 list, but BloombergNEF dropped it from the ranking in Q2 2025 for failing to meet criteria around bank cooperation and financial stability. That gap gives Canadian Solar a clearly stronger institutional and financial footprint for buyers who prioritize bankability.
On the product side, Canadian Solar covers residential rooftops with its HiKu6 and TOPHiKu6 lines, the former built on older PERC cells and the latter on newer n-type TOPCon cells for higher efficiency in tight roof spaces, while its TOPBiHiKu6 and new TOPCon 2.0 modules, rated up to 660 Wp and 24.4 percent efficiency, target commercial and utility-scale systems. Huayao offers panels spanning 395 to 730 Wp across PERC, N-TOPCon, HJT and IBC technologies, and its 620 Wp Hyper modules have been deployed in large ground-mount projects such as a 275 MW installation in Shandong, suggesting a product focus weighted toward utility and large C&I sites rather than residential.
For a typical international buyer, Canadian Solar is the safer default thanks to its listed history, sustained Tier 1 recognition and established distribution and warranty support outside China. Huayao can be competitive on price and offers a comparably broad technology mix, but its lapsed Tier 1 status in parts of 2025 means due diligence on the specific supplier's current financial standing and local warranty backing is warranted before committing to a large order.
Generated by Claude Sonnet 5 · 2026-08-03
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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.