The 190 Watt photovoltaic module from Evergreen is from their Spruce series and is made for grid-tie systems. The reason this system gets Editor's Pick is because of the care taken by Evergreen during the manufacturing process to ensure a low environmental impact. The only gripe we have about it is the relatively short warranty. Online consumer comments tell us the Evergreen modules are tough and last a long time, so we wonder why the company doesn't provide a little more assurance in their warranty-length.


The Sharp PV module is the only one under 190 watts (it is 180-W) but it makes up for it with some great features, such as a 25-year warranty, and built-in bypass diodes. Sharp has a strong name in the industry but for the price we would go with a higher-output solar panel.

At 17.4 percent efficiency, the Sanyo is the most efficient photovoltaic module out of the the ones we reviewed. This is because of Sanyo's HIT (heterojunction with intrinsic thin layer) technology, which allows the module to obtain maximum power within a fixed space and a lower temperature de-rating. As the days get hotter, the Sanyo HIT technolgy allows these photovoltaics to produce more electricity than conventional crystalline silicon solar panels at the same temperature.

The Kyocera KC190GT is a very good solar panel for the price and works well in everything from small-scale residential solar power systems to mid-scale commercial projects. Kyocera uses newly developed treatment method processes multi-crystalline silicon cells in order to produce a surface texture that minimizes surface reflectance and maximizes output.

In Summary these are all great PV modules to own and would work very well with any grid-tie system. If you have an off-grid system, the Sharp might be your best bet. If you are tied to the grid, we suggest either the Evergreen or the Sanyo 190-Watt solar power PV modules. We chose the Evergreen because it was about $200 less than the Sanyo. However, the Sanyo might end up being less expensive in the long run. Remember - The more efficient your solar power system is, the faster it will pay for itself.