What You Need to Know about the Degradation of Commercial Solar Panels?

Although solar panels are widely used in our daily life and get a lot of praise, it is important to know that such panels have a degradation rate. Before you make your choice, consider two questions: how to compare the advantages and disadvantages of different manufacturers and what impact will the degradation have on the company's profits. Then we will give a detailed explanation of the degradation rate of solar panels. 

What does Solar Panel Degradation and "Degradation Rate" mean?

Solar panel degradation may sound strange, but "degradation" is an industry term used to describe the decline in production of all solar modules over time.

We all have the question, “Do solar panels degrade over time?”, the short answer is“Yes.” But they don’t all degrade at the same rate—The degradation rate of common mono crystal solar panels and portable solar panels on the market are quite different. Panels usually experience a short-term degradation from 1% to 3% in the first year of operation. According to a recent study, the performance of panels has declined by an average of 0.8% to 0.9% per year since then.

So how long can solar panels last? Comprehensive tests conducted by commercial solar panel manufacturers show that solar panels have a lifespan of between 25 and 40 years, which depends on the panel material used by the manufacturer. As they use different forms of solar PV modules, the year of degradation will change accordingly. But that's not to say that the solar panels have stopped working. This simply implies that their energy production has fallen to a critical point beyond what manufacturers call the "life span".

What Impact will Commercial Solar Degradation Rate Have On the Company's Business?

After a brief understanding of how a solar panel degrades, the following questions arise: But what if you're considering a panel that degrades faster or slower, maybe 1%, maybe 0.25%? Is that a big difference? Is that a big difference?

Certainly. In fact, depending on the number of panels and the length of time the panels generate electricity, 6-7 percent of the degradation rate adds up to thousands of kilowatt hours of energy lost each year. This means that you may end up paying for electricity from the grid rather than from the solar panels you install. For a large commercial installation, this means that you need to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars over the life cycle of the solar panel system to ensure its normal use. This is definitely a huge number.

How to keep the degradation rate of panels relatively low?

In general, solar panels are very durable and can withstand heavy wind and snow loads. As long as you pay close attention to the operation of commercial solar panel systems, you can reduce the annual degradation rate of solar panels

Check your panels every year for physical damage and scratches from trees or bushes. The more surface scratches on the panel, the faster the degradation rate. The location of solar panels also affects the degradation rate of solar panels.Cleaning your panels can also play an important role in ensuring that they don't degrade faster than expected.

This is why it is important to consider whether to save money upfront on lower quality panels with higher degradation rates, or to invest in higher quality panels that degrade more slowly. It makes more long-term financial sense. When you evaluate your options, you should compare potential cost savings in advance.