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Benchmark | How to read a rank

A few places in the rankings can mean less than half a point.

Scores in every category sit close together, so a product can move several places on a change smaller than half a point. Read the score and its class before the position.

How close

Most neighbouring scores are within half a point

Gaps of half a point or less between neighbouring scores SCORE DENSITYGaps of half a point or less between neighbouring scores 114 Panel 76 Battery 86 Inverter
Each bar counts, within one category, the gaps between neighbouring current scores that are 0.5 point or smaller. Categories hold different numbers of products.
Chart data
SeriesValueNote
Panel114
Battery76
Inverter86

Between neighbouring current panel scores, 114 of 128 gaps are half a point or less.

For batteries it is 76 of 89.

For inverters it is 86 of 101.

Ties

Many products share a score outright

72 of 129 current panels share their exact one-decimal score with at least one other panel.

On the whole-number score shown on product cards, as many as 16 panels share one value.

Tied products share a rank, as the site ranks them: two products on the same score both take the higher place, and the next product skips a place.

Reading a rank

Read the score and class before the position

The figures cover the 321 current panels, batteries and inverters; retired, pre-release, thin-film and plug-in storage records are left out.

The newest product evidence behind these scores was checked on 2026-09-12.

A rank gap is a count of products, not a size of difference. Where neighbours sit this close, a small correction to one sourced value can move a product several places without changing what the evidence says about it. Compare the scores themselves, and compare within the product's class.

Sources and method4 sources

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