{"id":1722,"date":"2019-12-30T18:11:02","date_gmt":"2019-12-30T18:11:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.regalgrid.com\/?post_type=magazine&#038;p=1722"},"modified":"2024-09-25T12:49:12","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T12:49:12","slug":"solar-panels-lifespan-how-long-do-they-last","status":"publish","type":"magazine","link":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/solar-panels-lifespan-how-long-do-they-last\/","title":{"rendered":"Solar panels lifespan: how long do they last?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>PV panels lifespan<\/strong>\u00a0makes their\u00a0<strong>installation<\/strong>\u00a0really convenient. Normally, a PV system is guaranteed for\u00a0<strong>25 years<\/strong>\u00a0of \u201cuseful life\u201d: This longevity is not comparable to any other power generator, neither solar thermal system, which has a lifespan of 15 years. A long lifespan allows the system to pay for itself, both in terms of costs and carbon footprint, by supporting a\u00a0<strong>virtuous circle of clean and sustainable energy generation<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>The plant placed on\u00a0<strong>Volcano Island<\/strong>\u00a0has been the first demonstration of PV durability. It was installed almost 30 years ago, it is still working and supplying the electricity needs of the island. After 20 years from its activation, its production decreased only by 6%.<\/p>\n<p>We must specify what we mean by\u00a0<strong>duration<\/strong>: solar panels can generate energy for a very long time, but the duration we refer to is the \u201cuseful life\u201d, meaning the\u00a0<strong>period during which it is convenient to let the system work<\/strong>, namely the timeframe when the generated energy and the related saving cover the operating and maintenance costs.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Which factors affect solar panels durability?<\/h2>\n<p>Duration of panels and proper functioning are affected by several factors:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>First of all, the absence of\u00a0<strong>mechanical parts<\/strong>\u00a0reduces the average daily wear. The transmission of energy through\u00a0<strong>silicon<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0<strong>cadmium telluride<\/strong>\u00a0is a process where the decay of materials is minimal and quantifiable: each photovoltaic cell has an\u00a0<strong>annual power decrease<\/strong>\u00a0of\u00a0<strong>1%<\/strong>, 0.7% in case of polysilicon and 1,5% in case of thin film solar panels.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The level of\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/manutenzione-impianto-fotovoltaico\/\">ordinary maintenance<\/a>\u00a0surely weights on the deterioration of panels<\/strong>. Dirt settled on photovoltaic modules reduces both their efficiency and duration.<\/li>\n<li><strong>The geographic area<\/strong>\u00a0where PV panels are installed is also very important. In many areas air pollution reaches a very high level, causing a risk for health and damages to structures.\u00a0<strong>Fine dust<\/strong>\u00a0settles inside each solar panel affecting their efficiency and duration. In seaside areas the problem is the\u00a0<strong>salinity spread from the sea<\/strong>, which undermines the functioning of the PV system: although sea air is good for people\u2019s health, in the long term it has a corrosive effect on some parts of the panels. Furthermore, due to the sea air, panel absorbent surface becomes matt. In both cases, ordinary maintenance can reduce the effects.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In order to have a long-lasting system, meeting your expectation and optimizing energy generation especially during the maximum irradiation period, we suggest you to perform an\u00a0<strong>annual cleaning<\/strong>\u00a0and to\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/monitoraggio-energia-elettrica\/\"><strong>track the performances<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0of your panels to determine the best time to clean them.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Inverter lifespan<\/h2>\n<p>Solar panels have such a long life, and it is hard for the\u00a0<strong>inverters<\/strong>\u00a0to keep up.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/inverter-cosa-sono-e-a-cosa-servono\/\">Inverter, the beating heart of a photovoltaic system<\/a>, transforms solar energy collected by the panels,\u00a0<strong>inverting direct current into alternating current<\/strong>, the one used by the electrical system. Because of inverters key role, we should keep track of their performances: the best ones can live until\u00a0<strong>13 years<\/strong>. Normally after 10 years they reduce their performances, undermining the sustainability of the whole system. When you do your maths to buy a solar panels system, we suggest you to always consider an inverter replacement. Here too, duration is affected by several factors: wear conditions, no maintenance and a possible overheating.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>Storage batteries lifespan<\/h2>\n<p>As concerned the\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/magazine\/impianto-fotovoltaico-con-accumulo\/\">storage batteries<\/a>, what mostly affects their deterioration is\u00a0<strong>overloading<\/strong>: supplying electricity even when the battery is completely full will damage it, reducing its life. Still, there are other issues to be considered: maintenance, temperature and how batteries work (e.g.: inactivity days are deleterious), weather conditions. The best batteries on the market, the\u00a0<strong>deep cycle lithium ions batteries<\/strong>, have shown during testing phase a potential duration of\u00a0<strong>7000 charging cycles<\/strong>, corresponding to almost 20 years, considering a charging cycle every day. In real using cases their lifespan stands at\u00a0<strong>12 years<\/strong>, consistent with the traditional product warranties, which normally cover 5 to 10 years of activity.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":4396,"parent":0,"template":"","category-magazine":[41],"class_list":["post-1722","magazine","type-magazine","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-magazine-solar-and-photovoltaic"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1722","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/magazine"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1722\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4398,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/magazine\/1722\/revisions\/4398"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4396"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1722"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category-magazine","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regalgrid.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/category-magazine?post=1722"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}