Solar Panel Degradation Rate Comparison

A meta analysis of 11 000 solar power installations found that the median degradation rate was 0 5 to 0 6 meaning for every panel that declined more slowly another declined more quickly.

Solar panel degradation rate comparison.

For every degree above 25 c 77 f your solar panel s electricity production will decrease by its temperature coefficient. Typically degradation rates for quality panels are below 1 year. Both the rec alpha series and sunpower maxeon 3 factor a maximum 2 degradation in year 1 while degrading at no more than 0 25 per annum guaranteed for 25 years. These days the average efficiency of a solar panel is about 18 7 percent.

The panasonic n series of panels are a good quality solar panel with a top efficiency on their 330 watt monocrystalline system of 19 7 and a very impressive temperature coefficient of 0 29 a figure which is equal best with the market leader sunpower. Ideally you want this number to be as low as possible. On average solar panels degrade at a rate of 1 each year. Monocrystalline solar panels are the most popular solar panels used in rooftop solar installations today.

That s backed up by the solar panel manufacturer s warranty which guarantees 90 production in the first ten years and 80 by year 25 or 30. This means that under ideal conditions 18 7 percent of sun waves that hit the panels will be converted into usable. However a study conducted by the national renewable energy laboratory nrel shows a more accurate picture of solar panel degradation. Most solar panels experience at least 2 3 lid degradation in the first few weeks of operation.

Not so with sunpower panels which experience zero lid degradation due to their unique cell composition. One of the reasons people tend to choose monocrystalline solar panels is because of how they look. The solar cells within monocrystalline panels are a single flat black color which makes them popular among homeowners. For example the silfab sil 320 nl panel has a temperature coefficient of 0 36 c.

The mean average degradation rate was 0 8 to 0 9. Sunpower solar panels offer the industry best degradation rate at 0 32 year. Sunpower solar panel performance sunpower s degradation or performance warranty is 92 after 25 years.