On average, solar panels degrade at a rate of 0.4%-1% each year. The solar panel manufacturer's warranty backs this up, guaranteeing 96%-90% production in the first ten years and 89.4%-80% by year 25 or 30. Solar panels' life span directly decide the power generator of our solar system.
So How Long Do Solar Panels Last?
What can we do to prevent solar panel degradation?
While deciding if solar is right for you, it's important you understand your solar panel's life expectancy. In this blog, we'll discuss how long solar panels last, solar panel efficiency over time, and what you can do to prevent solar panel degradation.
Depending on the manufacturer, solar panels' performance can be guaranteed for 25 - 30 years, but it's very possible that your panels will go on to produce electricity for longer than that. The first 25 to 30 years after your solar installation is considered the system's "useful life", but panels can still produce electricity for decades longer.
What is a solar panel's useful life? Like many other pieces of equipment, solar panels don't perform at 100% for their entire life and then stop working in year 30. Instead, they produce less electricity at a very slow rate as they age. This process is called degradation.
Because of solar panel degradation, most panels' production warranties change as they age. The degradation also depends on the different solar panel manufacturers product warranty. As usual, Manufacturers typically guarantee 90% of the panels' production until the first ten years. After ten years, that percentage drops back to 80% for the remaining 15-20 years. Some of the solar PV mudule manufacturer can decrease the degradation to 0.4per year and ensure a 87.4% efficiency of the photovoltaic modules while 30 years.
Because there are a variety of ways panels can degrade, caused by a variety of factors, it's a difficult problem to solve. Solar panel manufacturers are constantly evolving and coming up with ways to reduce that degradation rate so your panels can keep up their power output. But in the meantime, your panels are guaranteed to degrade at or below a specific rate, so you can rest assured your investment is a safe one.