ENF's brand survey of installation companies in 45 different countries has revealed the following brands as the best companies in the eyes of their customers.

Solar Cells
- 49% of companies thought the cell brand in a panel was important
- The most commonly named cell brands that installation companies thought were high quality were Sharp,
  Q-Cells and BP Solar.
- Q-Cells was the clear No.1 in Europe, but almost unknown in APAC and Americas

Inverters
- Wholesalers are the most popular distribution channel for installation companies to buy inverters in Europe
  and Americas, while installers in APAC are more likely to buy directly from the manufacturer.

Customers and Installation Types
- Home owners account for the majority of PV power installed globally in 2006.  In Canada and US, almost
  2/3 of capacity installed in 2006 was purchased by home owners, while in APAC the biggest customer type
  was the government (especially in India).
- Installation types varied strongly across Europe. German installations were mostly standard roof mounted
  systems, Spain was mostly free-standing installations, and the majority of installations in France were
  building integrated installations (mostly roof replacement).

Details on Survey Methodology

ENF firstly researched the sample base of installation companies around the world.
-  ENF had a strong starting sample base from its PV industry directory
-  Further sample was added through detailed internet research
-  Renewable energy government agencies around the world were contacted, and many installer lists
   obtained from them
-  Further sample was obtained from distributors and installation companies

Data collection was then undertaken.
-  3 incentives were offered in order to maximise the response rate.
-  Verbal data collection was discounted due to two key reasons, 1) The managers of installation companies
   are very busy, 2) It can sometimes be difficult to accurately record answers when dealing with accents
   from 45 different countries.
-  A pilot survey was trialed by sending out paper questionnaires with free-post return envelopes, but the
   response rate was too low.  Email dissemination of the questionnaire was also impractical as the
   response rate was even lower.
-  The optimal solution chosen was to program the questionnaire onto the ENF site, and to contact the
   installation directors by phone to explain the survey and incentives, and to request their participation.
-  The questionnaire was translated into 7 different languages, and then the ENF office shifted to 24
   hours/day operation with a team of 17 ENF staff calling all the countries around the world. 
   Please click the flags below to see each language version of the questionnaire:

-  297 responses to the questionnaire were achieved (more were received, but some had to be deleted
   during data cleaning), with good sample in all the key PV markets.
-  Quality was maintained by recording the company and personal details of each respondent.  The
   respondents were then thanked by email to ensure it was them that actually filled in the questionnaire. 
   Also, the questionnaires were kept on hidden web pages to ensure that only the installation companies
   ENF spoke to would access the questionnaire pages.

Data cleaning was performed in the following ways
-  Questionnaires with too little information filled in were deleted
-  Duplicated questionnaires were deleted
-  If a company rated its own products, their scores were deleted (as they could not be considered unbiased)
-  If a company name and brand name were both mentioned by different people (they are sometimes
   different), they were then combined
-  For answers that appeared illogical (eg. percentages that added up to more than 100%, a company rating
   a brand as excellent but then saying that they wanted to avoid ever buying the product again etc.), the
   respondents were contacted by telephone to check the answers they gave.

Data analysis to identify the top brands was undertaken
-  Unweighted answers were chosen as the best measure of customer views.  The views of a company
   installing 10MWp should not count as 100 times as important as the views of a company installing
   100kWp
-  The rating on each company was taken as the average of the scores for product quality and value for
   money
-  A minimum of 5 sets of customer ratings were taken for the brand to be considered as a ‘top brand'.  It is
   too easy for a brand to achieve top position if rated by only one or two customers.  If a brand has too few
   customers purchasing their product, then they are a small local brand and not a potential global top brand.
-  It should be noted that only brands purchased by the customer within the last 12 months were requested,
   so that the brands' recent performance is reflected.
-  Data was analysed on advanced statistical software, but top brand results were rechecked by hand from
   the original individual questionnaire responses to double check the accuracy.
-  These awards have been undertaken in a completely unbiased manner, and ENF is open to 3rd party
   inspection of the results (all respondent's details are on file and an independent 3rd party could call the
   respondents to check their answers for any brand results that are considered suspect).  ENF's industry
   reputation for accurate unbiased information is its most valuable asset and we go to great pains to ensure
   the most accurate results.

Market trend analysis (attributes considered important, type of customers served, type of installations undertaken, geographic spread outside of home countries, installed Wp 05/06, on-grid/off-grid, technical staff) - €800
Panel results (brand scores, loyalty levels, individual complaints, distribution structures, panel prices 06/07) - €500
Inverter results (brand scores, loyalty levels, individual complaints, distribution structures) - €300
Mounting system results (brand scores, loyalty levels, individual complaints, distribution structures) - €300
Tracker results (brand scores, loyalty levels, individual complaints, distribution structures) - €200
System integrator results (brand scores, loyalty levels, individual complaints) - €200
Cell results (importance of cells, cells considered high-quality) - €200
Individual installer profiles - €450

Complete report - €2000