All Back Contact cell

Conventional cells route both positive and negative contacts through the front of the silicon — the silver lines you see on a typical panel are busbars that shadow the wafer. ABC moves every contact to the back. The front face is pure silicon, no shadow, no obstruction. Light capture goes up by roughly 3% on the same wafer.

N-type silicon

N-type wafers are doped with phosphorus instead of boron. That eliminates boron-oxygen pairing, which is the root cause of light-induced degradation (LID) in the first year of a P-type panel's life. N-type holds rated output from day one. Better temperature coefficient too — the panel loses less output as it warms up under summer sun.

Cell-level shade optimisation

Built into the cell, not bolted on. A shaded cell in a conventional panel drags the whole string down because current must flow through it. Aiko's ABC cells route around shaded sections at the silicon level — no external optimisers, no DC-DC converters, no extra warranty terms. Industry's only solution at this depth.

Precision Overlap Soldering

Gen 3 closes the inter-cell gap with overlap soldering — cells partially overlap rather than sitting butt-jointed. This adds about 4% active surface area on the same module footprint. It's why the Gen 3 panel runs 15–20 W higher than the equivalent Gen 2 module at the same physical size.

Hidden busbars · no-busbar look

Even the back-side contacts are routed through interconnects hidden under the cells. From the front, the panel reads as a continuous black surface — no silver lines, no visible grid pattern. The bezel-less aluminium frame and black backsheet complete the all-black aesthetic without compromising structural integrity.

Micro-crack resistance

Cell-level cracks are the silent killer of PV array yield over a 25-year horizon — thermal cycling, snow load, hail, foot traffic during install. ABC cell geometry is mechanically more resilient than half-cut PERC, and the overlap-soldered interconnects distribute stress better than wire-busbar topologies. Lower hot-spot risk, longer field life.

High-temperature fire safety

Aiko's cells include a high-temperature restriction layer — if local cell temperature rises beyond safe operating range (a fault condition, not normal use), the cell self-limits. Particularly relevant for residential installs where the array sits a few metres above sleeping occupants. Class C fire rating, IEC certified.

Best temperature coefficient in test

CEA PV Tech laboratory tested the major residential panel families and ranked Aiko ABC #1 on temperature coefficient at −0.26%/°C. On a 35°C UK summer roof, that's measurably more kWh than a TOPCon or PERC panel rated at −0.30% would produce — exactly when the inverter and battery are using the most.

Three industry awards

Intersolar Award 2023 — Europe's most-watched PV innovation prize. Red Dot Design Award 2023 — for the aesthetic and product design of the Neostar series. ESG Transparency Award 2024 — for supply-chain disclosure and silicon sourcing. The Gen 3 module carries the cumulative refinement of all three.

1 · Aiko Neostar 3S 475W panel

The module itself. 1762 × 1134 × 30 mm, 20.6 kg, all-black bezel-less frame. Anodised aluminium edge, tempered solar glass front, black polymer backsheet. Two Staubli MC4 EVO2 connectors on the back, 1.2 m factory cabling. Clampable on both long and short edges — gives the mounting system flexibility for landscape or portrait layout.

2 · Mounting rails

Aluminium rails (K2 Systems or Renusol — the UK-standard residential brands) span across the roof rafters. Sized in length to suit array layout. Anodised black to disappear under the all-black panels. Roof anchors clamp through the tile or slate course to engage the rafter beneath — load path goes panel → clamp → rail → anchor → rafter.

3 · Panel clamps

Mid clamps between adjacent panels, end clamps at the array edges. Black-anodised aluminium. Tightened to torque spec at install (typically 14–18 Nm) to grip the panel frame without distorting it. Long-side or short-side clamping per the structural engineer's wind-load calc and the roof's pitch.

4 · Flashings and weather sealing

Each roof anchor passes through the existing roof covering. Lead flashings (traditional UK pitched roof) or proprietary flashing kits (modern interlocking tile) seal the penetration. Done correctly at install, this is a 30-year detail — same lifespan as the panel itself, no leak callbacks.

5 · DC cabling and isolator

Solar-rated DC cable in UV-stable conduit runs from the array to the inverter. A DC isolator on the rooftop (and another at the inverter) lets engineers safely disconnect the array for service. MC4 EVO2 connectors throughout — industry-standard, future-proof for any compatible string inverter.

6 · Earthing and bonding

The aluminium array frame is bonded to the main earthing terminal of the property to BS 7671 standards. Earth clamp on each rail, continuous earth bond through to the inverter chassis. Surge protection on the DC and AC side handles transient overvoltages from nearby lightning strikes — protects both the panels and the inverter.

25 year product warranty

Aiko warrants the Neostar 3S Gen 3 module against manufacturing defects, frame failure, junction box failure, and backsheet delamination for 25 years from commissioning. Among the longest product warranties in residential PV — most TOPCon and PERC panels offer 12–15 years on the product itself.

30 year performance warranty

Linear performance guarantee. Year 1 the panel delivers at least 98% of rated output. By year 30 it still delivers at least 88%. That's a slope of roughly 0.4%/year — about half the degradation rate of typical PERC modules. Verified against EN 61215 and IEC 61730 test protocols.

MCS certified

Aiko Neostar 3S Gen 3 is MCS-listed (BABT 8586-2). Every install by an MCS-certified installer like CleverBloom qualifies the system for SEG export tariffs and zero-VAT until March 2027. The MCS certificate is issued at commissioning and required by every UK energy supplier for export registration.

N-type future-proof

N-type cell technology is the direction the entire industry is moving — Aiko has been there for a decade. Replacement panels, expansion strings, and inverter compatibility all stay current through the 30-year design life of the array. No risk of stranded technology mid-warranty.

SYSTEM PROTECTOR
Remote monitoring

The hybrid inverter (paired separately) reports panel-string performance to its app every five minutes. If a panel underperforms its expected output for two consecutive days — bird droppings, branch shadow, faulty clamp loosening or a winter — the homeowner sees it before yield drops noticeably. Issues caught in week one, not at the annual EPC.

SYSTEM PROTECTOR
Panel-cleaning service

UK rain handles most of it, but algae and pollen build up over a 5-year horizon — particularly on lower-pitch roofs. CleverBloom's panel-cleaning service (water-fed pole, deionised water, no abrasives) restores rated output. Recommended once every 3–5 years depending on tree cover and prevailing wind direction.