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The Reliability of Solar Panels

Jessica PirroJune 12, 2019 4378 0

How Reliable Are Solar Panels?

Ever since the start of the solar energy, the reliability of the solar panels has been in question. The question of the reliability of the solar panels has been a deterrent for a lot of prospective customers who are considering purchasing a home solar energy system.

The main concerns are divided into two different groups. The first concern is about the performance of physical solar panels and the second is about the question of how dependable the source of energy is.

During the start of the solar industry the question of the reliability of solar panels was more reliable. However, since solar technology has improved, the home solar energy system has as well. Now that solar panels have improved their technologies, it has become a much more reliable power source, and it has paved the way for more than 2 million Americans to install a home solar energy system.   

One of the ways to determine how productive and reliable the home solar energy system will be is by taking a look at how solar energy is produced.

How The Solar Energy Is Produced

When talking about solar energy it is in reference to how the energy is produced by the sun. In order to turn the sun’s energy into energy that your home is able to use, we use solar panels. The panels are made up of photovoltaic (PV) cells, which are made if silicon, as the sunlight hits the surface if the cell it squeezes out the electrons, which causes them to flow. Basically, the solar electricity that’s created is just flowing electrons.

Once the solar electricity is created it flows to a solar power inverter, which is where the DC electricity that is generated from the panels, it is converted to AC electricity that can be used to power your home. The percentage of light converted into is what is known as the efficiency of a solar panel. The average solar panel has efficiency from anywhere between 15-18 percent. When there is a high efficiency of a solar panel, it’s because they use a higher quality of photovoltaic cells and it requires less physical space to obtain the desired power output.

Exactly How Reliable Are Solar Panels?

The reliability and the solar panel lifespan are fantastic, which is in accordance with a recent study that was done by the Energy Department. The researchers for the solar panels inspected 54,500 solar panels in total, 50,000 of them were in the United States. In that study, they found that only five out of 10,000 panels that were placed between 2000 and 2015.

This means that the modern panels will have a failure rate if just 0.05%. Considering it is now 2019 and the manufacturing has come a long way from a measly four years ago, the failure rate is even lower.

The more reliable home solar energy system manufacturers will offer a power output warranty of either 25 or 30 years. In the 25 to 30 years that your home solar energy is under warranty, if your home solar energy system is experiencing failures (though it is very unlikely it will), the warranty will cover your panel will be replaced free of charge.

Is Solar Power Going To Be A Reliable Energy Source For Your Home?

In order to answer the question about solar panels being a reliable energy source for your home, you must answer the question of ‘how do solar panels work?’ Because solar panels depend on the sun and they aren’t going to be very good at night, which will produce less energy and it all depends on the season. But there are two ways to overcome the decreased energy production:

  • Net Metering: There’s a law that has been passed which is known as net metering, it requires the utilities to compensate those who export excess power to the grid. In most cases, you’ll receive the credit at the same rate you purchase power at on a cents per kilowatt-hour basis.  
  • Batteries: Your solar panels are what will charge your batteries throughout the day and during the night the batteries will power your house.  

In most cases, the homeowners will elect not to install batteries with their home solar energy system. The reason being that net metering allows you to harness the economic value of your solar energy without the large financial investment in batteries.

It’s hard to overstate what is an amazing incentive net metering is. When you sign up for net metering you get the benefit of 24/7 grid connectivity while this allows you to sell your surplus solar production during the day, which cancels the majority or even your entire power bill.

Can I Maximize The Output Of My Solar Panels?

There have been many cases where the homeowners get upset with the amount of power generated by their home solar energy system. Which is usually a result of unprofessional and sub-optimal solar panel installation which prevents the home solar panels from reaching their full power potential.

There are ways that you can maximize the output of your solar panels:

  • Face The Panels South: A simple way to maximize your panels is by facing your panels as close as possible to being directly south. South-facing panels will produce up to 30% more energy.
  • Ground Mounts: If you install a ground-mounted solar system. The ground-mounted solar system is not dictated by the characteristics of your roof and it only costs around 15% more.
  • Up the Efficiency of a solar panel: If you install higher-efficiency solar panels. But the higher the efficiency of a solar panel is the cost is also higher as well. But more efficient solar panels are great when they are available roof space is limited.

When it comes to saving the most cost-effective option on solar panel installation is a rooftop install.

See how much you can benefit from switching to solar using the hahaSmart price checker.  

Get creative and design your own rooftop your solar system with the hahaSmart design DIY tool.

 

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