How long do solar panels last ?

The industry standard for the Productive life of solar panel in UAE is 25 to 30 years. However, a solar panel will not die after 25-30 years, but its production will decrease by a significant amount below that projected by the manufacturer. It’s hard to understand the upfront cost of solar without knowing how long you can expect your roof panels to generate enough energy. Your solar panels will be able to offset your electricity use for decades depending on the shelf life of solar panels, but it’s also important to understand the degradation rates.

What is the expected life of solar panels?

As a rule, the average service life of solar panels is about 25-30 years. However, this doesn’t imply that they stop producing electricity after 25 years, it just means that energy production has decreased by what manufacturers consider a significant amount.

The life of solar panels, however, will be much longer. Solar panels will continue to work for many decades, given that they are not physically damaged by wind, debris, or any other external factors. This is mainly because solar panels have no moving parts: they rarely break from the inside and are usually only damaged by external forces, such as poor shelf settings or inclement weather.

The depreciable life of solar panels

A 2012 study by the NREL concluded that, on average, solar panel production drops by 0.8 percent each year. This rate of decrease is called the degradation rate of the solar panel, which is proportional to the life of solar panels. Although this decline rate metric will vary depending on the brand of panels you buy, premium manufacturers like SunPower offer degradation rates as low as 0.3%.

Degradation rates and the average life of solar panels are constantly increasing as solar panel technology improves over the years, and degradation rates of less than 1% are common throughout the industry. During the time since this 2012 study was conducted, more efficient technologies have been developed and many newer panels have only a 0.5 percent annual decrease in energy production (or better!).

What exactly does the useful life of solar panels for depreciation mean? For the example above, a degradation rate of 0.8% means that in the second year, your panels will work at 99.2 percent of their original performance; at the end of their 25-year “useful life”, they will still work at 82.5%.

A slightly more durable panel with a degradation rate of 0.5% will probably produce about 87.5% of the electricity than when it was first installed. To measure the expected output of your solar panels after some years, you can multiply the degradation rate by the years you want the panel to work and subtract that number from 100%.

Solar panels also are sold with a few different warranties that can give you a notion of how long the effective life of solar panels is going to be. Manufacturers will offer an equipment warranty, to certify against manufacturing defects, and a performance warranty, to ensure that their panels produce a certain amount of electricity. Your solar panel’s performance warranty, which usually lasts for 25 years, can give you a better idea of how much electricity you can expect from your solar panel system over time.

You also do not need to be concerned about the carbon footprint of your solar PV modules. The 25 to 30-year life of solar panels like the Canadian Solar Panels is significantly longer than its “energy recovery time” or EPBT. EPBT is the amount of time it takes for a solar panel to generate enough clean energy to recover the energy that was used to make it in the first place. A 2010 analysis by Brookhaven National Laboratory found that the EPBT of a solar panel is only six months, a number that has surely decreased over the past six years as panel manufacturing becomes more efficient.

Can you extend the life of solar panels?

In general, solar panels are extremely durable. The majority of manufacturers test their modules to ensure that they can go through heavy snow loads and high winds, and many PV panels are specifically tested to ensure that they can withstand hail. In addition, solar energy systems generally have no moving parts and require little to no maintenance.

The best way to increase the life span of solar panels is to work with a reputable installer who offers solid customer service.  It is also important to buy solar panels that have solid warranties – many panel manufacturers offer 10 to 12-year equipment warranties for their panels that cover defects and environmental damage, as well as production warranties that usually last around 25 years that guarantee that their panels will produce more than a certain amount of energy for your home.

However, keeping your solar panel system in good shape can lead to a lower degradation rate each year and can promise longer panel performance. Good maintenance has a direct effect on the life of solar panels on the roof. Below are some measures you can take to make your solar PV modules last longer:

Debris and harmful materials shorten the life of PV panels

When installing your solar panels for the first time, your installer will make sure that there are no large trees that can shade or drop branches on your panels. While you can avoid physical damage to your solar panels, they will keep generating energy for many years, maybe even beyond the 25 to 30-year lifespan of solar panels.

You can even purchase specialized products to prevent specific types of physical damage to your panels. For example, solar panel critter guards can prevent animals such as squirrels and birds from nesting under your panels, which can cause damage to panels and aluminum solar DC cable over time and also shorten the lifespan of a solar panel inverter. So, visit solar panel cables for sale in Dubai in our website.

You can visit our website for the specifications and prices of all types of solar panels. We offer our customers all the best-selling solar panels. Contact our sales team to get the Longi solar panels uae price, for instance.

Frequently Asked Questions about the life of solar panels