RightyTightey t1_jchfe5l wrote on March 16, 2023 at 9:13 PM

Question(a): With a 25 year payback period, at what point do you break even with costs? And how long is a panel going to retain its electricity producing efficiency? What is the lifecycle of the panel before it needs replacing?

SolarGuyInMaine t1_jchvw05 wrote on March 16, 2023 at 11:03 PM

Break-even is usually 6-8 years when paying in cash, and 8-10 years when financing. It depends on your array and credit score.

Most installers offer mono crystalline panels that degrade at a rate of 0.50% per year. A few installers offer heterojunction panels that degrade 0.25%.

Most are warrantied for 25yrs or 30yrs, but will last 35-40yrs.

Choose an installer that is willing to answer all of your questions, and is clearly looking out for you. This is likely the second largest purchase of your life, so you deserve it! Companies using Mosaic (or other big banks) have to charge more because dealer fees can be as high as 29%!

Substantial-Spare501 OP t1_jchplqt wrote on March 16, 2023 at 10:21 PM

Everything I read says 25 years. I am doing it more for the temperature management and resale value of the house

lantech t1_jchxoey wrote on March 16, 2023 at 11:16 PM

My payback is about 9 years.

Performance warranty for my Qcell panels: "The guaranteed minimum power output after 25 years is 83 %."

So at some point I might want to replace a few panels to get back to the original total output. Maybe pull off some 400w panels and replace them with new 500w panels.