How long do solar panels last?

HOW LONG DO SOLAR PANELS LAST?

You’re interested in solar power for your home or office; now what?

First things first: solar panels, like any product, do indeed degrade over time. This means there will be a reduction in energy efficiency from year-to-year. The good news is that the enhancements in solar technology over the last decade have provided a much better product. 

What does that mean for you, the consumer? 

It means the latest solar panels decline at a rate of about .5% per year. In layman’s terms, if your brand new solar panels are operating at 100% efficiency upon installation, then they will perform at 99.5% efficiency after one year of use, and 90.0% efficiency after 20 years.

A vast majority of the solar power industry provides a warranty of excellent length for their product - most often between 25 and 30 years. Investing thousands of dollars will always be a reasonable cause for concern. Still, the solar power industry wants to bring its customers the greatest peace of mind possible, and they do this by backing their products.

While your solar panel warranty may expire after 25 years, chances are excellent, your solar panels will still be very efficient for many years to come. 

SOLAR PANEL ENERGY PAYBACK TIME (EPBT)

Like millions of us in the world today, energy and resource conservation has become a huge talking point. Naturally, we want our beautiful planet, with its limited resources, to last as long as possible, so many generations from now, there will still be resources aplenty.

The solar power industry has come up with a measurement standard, known as Energy Payback Time, or EPBT, due to the concerns on climate change, reduction in waste product, energy consumption, and things of the ilk. 

What is EPBT? 

A concern of solar energy for many consumers is the potential for environmental damage during the manufacturing of the panels themselves. In other words, are you damaging the environment more than you’re going to help it? Absolutely not.

So how long does it take to recuperate the energy spent to produce the panels by your usage of the clean, renewable, sustainable energy our closest star provides? Surprisingly, newer, high-efficiency solar panels pay back their ‘debt’ in only six months.

WHAT ARE THE EFFECTS OF SEVERE WEATHER ON MY PANELS?

After investing thousands of dollars into your solar panels, one of your most significant concerns may be the effect severe weather will have on your system. Believe it or not, the United States Government actually has a hand in industry standards that are set for solar panel durability via the Solar Energy Technologies Office (SETO). Over the years, SETO has developed a series of tests that provide consumer confidence in solar energy investments. 

In 2017, there was a significant hailstorm in Denver, Colorado, that produced hail THREE inches in diameter at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). The Denver NREL has 3,000 solar modules, and after the hailstorm, only one panel had been damaged!

PEACE OF MIND

Rest easy, you have peace of mind. Your panels will survive severe weather, you are helping the environment by using renewable energy, and you have a warranty that may outlast the mortgage on your home. Solar power is the way of the future. Jump on board!