Alectrona
Commercial solar panels · over 50 kWp · outside MCSAiko Solar commercial solar panels come from a China-headquartered module maker. It is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (added Q3 2024, present Q1 2026); we re-verify the live quarter for the exact module before contract.
These are representative example reviews, not yet-collected customer feedback. They are written to illustrate the kind of feedback Alectrona aims to earn and are shown as design placeholders while we gather and verify reviews from our first commercial clients. Alectrona is the commercial solar trading brand of RVTC LTD.
What set Alectrona apart was the documented design pack. We had quotes from three installers, but only Alectrona handed us a full set of drawings, a single-line diagram and a design referencing BS 7671 and the G99 connection process. The whole thing read like an engineering submission rather than a sales brochure. Our M&E consultant reviewed it and signed it off without a single query. That gave the board the confidence to release the capital.
Other firms priced our roof off a satellite image and a desktop guess. Alectrona flew an in-house drone survey, fully insured and flown by a qualified commercial drone pilot, and built a 3D model of the actual roof. It picked up plant, vents and a parapet line that a flat aerial photo had completely missed, which changed the panel layout. I would rather find that out at design stage than on the day the scaffold goes up. The accuracy of that survey is the reason I trusted everything that followed.
As a finance director I was wary of being oversold a system bigger than we could use. Alectrona modelled the array against our actual half-hourly consumption data rather than an annual total, so it is sized to what we genuinely draw on site during the day. They were honest that exporting surplus is worth far less than self-consumption, and built the design around that. The capital case stacked up because the engineering was honest, not because the numbers were inflated.
We were undecided between buying outright, leasing and a PPA. Alectrona laid out all three side by side with the pros and cons of each against our balance sheet, instead of pushing the one that pays them best. They were clear about where a PPA makes sense and where capex wins, and pointed us at our own accountant for the tax treatment. The survey and design took a little longer than I expected, but the thoroughness was worth the wait. Genuinely consultative.
The install crew were tidy and well run, and worked to a clear CDM 2015 plan with a proper site induction and RAMS. What impressed me most was the handover. We received a full commissioning pack with the IEC 62446-1 test results, certification, O&M documentation and an as-built record for our maintenance team. As the people who have to live with this asset for the next twenty years, having that paperwork in order matters enormously. Nothing was left loose.
I expected the usual hard sell and got the opposite. After surveying our site Alectrona told us one roof section was not worth covering because of shading, and that a smaller, well-sited array was the better investment than filling every square metre. There was no commission-driven upselling and no pressure. For a six-figure capital project, that straight talk is exactly what you want from the people advising you. We will be using them again on our second site.
Our flagship module brand, chosen on its own merits rather than legacy heritage. Aiko is a premium high-efficiency specialist and the pioneer of mass-produced N-type ABC (All Back Contact) modules. It is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer (added Q3 2024, present Q1 2026) and a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer. Aiko was never part of the Silicon Module Super League and we do not describe it as such. It is a newer entrant, so we position it on its technology and Tier 1 bankability, not on shipment heritage, and we do not claim a PV ModuleTech AAA or AA grade for it.
Aiko earns its place when the roof sets the limit rather than the budget. On a constrained commercial roof, where plant, rooflights or a tight planning footprint cap the panel count, the question is how many watts each square metre can carry, and a 24.6% module answers it better than a value panel. So we reach for Aiko where area is scarce and every metre of output has to work, and for larger, simpler arrays we usually specify a bankable value brand instead. That choice is not a brand preference; it follows the survey and the PV*SOL yield model, read against your half-hourly electricity use and the structural loading the roof can take.
On bankability we are precise. Aiko is a BloombergNEF Tier 1 manufacturer, added to the list in Q3 2024 and present in Q1 2026, and we re-verify the live quarter for the exact module before contract. Tier 1 is a financing-track-record signal rather than a quality grade, so we read it alongside independent reliability evidence rather than as proof of field performance. Aiko was never a Silicon Module Super League member and we do not imply it was; it is a newer module brand built on long cell-making heritage, positioned here on its technology and its Tier 1 standing.
Aiko leads with N-type ABC, an All Back Contact cell that places both electrical contacts on the rear of the cell. Moving the contacts off the front removes the busbar shading that costs a conventional cell some of its front-side area, which is the main reason the technology reaches the efficiencies it does. The flagship we specify, the Aiko 665 W Stellar 3N+ dual-glass 72-cell module, is rated at 24.6% efficiency, with the wider series rated up to 25.5%, putting it among the highest-efficiency commercial silicon available. How the cell types compare in practice is set out in our TOPCon, HJT and PERC guide.
Two datasheet figures matter on a working roof. The temperature coefficient is -0.26%/degC, so the module holds output better than a panel with a weaker coefficient when a dark commercial roof runs hot in summer. The back-contact design also gives cell-level partial-shade tolerance, so a cell shaded by a vent or a parapet costs less yield than the same shading on a string of conventional cells. The module measures 1134 x 2382 mm at a 1500 V maximum system voltage, a large-format 72-cell panel that suits commercial racking and longer strings. On a space-limited roof, fewer higher-output modules can mean less mounting and fewer penetrations for the same generation target.
Warranty cover is confirmed from the datasheet for the exact module before contract, never assumed from a brand headline. The flagship Aiko 665 W Stellar 3N+ carries a 15-year product warranty against manufacturing defects, two to three years longer than the 12 years common across the market, and a 30-year performance warranty on linear output, and we read both terms back to you in writing in the specification. For independent evidence of how the module behaves in test, Aiko is a 2026 Kiwa PVEL Top Performer, a measured reliability result we cite alongside its bankability. We are precise on bankability: Aiko sits in the B band of PV ModuleTech, so we do not claim an AAA or AA grade for it, and its assurance rests on the Tier 1 listing and the PVEL record, re-verified for the exact module.
Above 50 kWp the work is outside the domestic MCS scheme, so assurance comes from the engineering. We design to BS 7671, commission and test to IEC 62446-1, run the G99 connection with the DNO, hold CDM 2015 duties through the project, and base the layout on a structural survey of the actual roof. Behind the warranty stands a public company, listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (600732), with long heritage as a merchant solar-cell supplier.
AIK-A-MDE72-665-SF-DG-01C
MCS does not cover systems this size, so the rigour is what you rely on instead. These are the component-level standards we hold on every install, at commercial scale.
MC4 plug-and-socket connectors are one of the most common failure points in the UK installed base, and the field-made ones are where the risk lives. Every connector we crimp on site gets a sealed ArcBox enclosure: weatherproof, UV-stable, and proof against the arcing-on-corroded-pins failure behind many rooftop PV fires. Diagnosed in real time through our sister company, Solar Tech Support.
A commercial array is a large metal structure on an exposed roof, wired straight into your distribution board. We earth and bond every array to BS 7671 and fit the surge protection that stands between a lightning transient or a grid spike and your inverters and switchgear. It protects the asset and the building it feeds, and it is built into the base design on every install.
Our Qualifying Supervisor, a fully AM2-trained electrician, personally reviews the install report on every job before commissioning sign-off: photos, test certificates, torque-check log and commissioning data, all filed and checked. We are an engineering company first, so the installer never signs themselves off.
Last updated July 2026
Tell us about your building and your electricity use. We will survey the roof, model it in PV*SOL, and specify a bankable module with the scheme, grade and quarter named.
