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Short answer: you betcha! While shopping for solar panels, you may notice that most companies offer warranties for 25+ years. How many other products that you own offer that type of standard warranty? It’s a testament to the reliability of home solar panels and an important part of receiving a timely a return on your investment. See exactly how much you can save today with our solar savings calculator.
How Do Solar Panels Work?
Understanding the technology behind solar panels helps in explaining their durability and function. As we explained in past blog posts, solar panels, also known as photovoltaic cells, utilize solar radiation to create electricity. Solar radiation is composed of photons and light that carry a lot of potential energy as they speed toward earth from the sun. The panels themselves are built specifically to utilize the energy in these speeding photons to generate electricity. The solar panel itself is composed of two major silicon parts. On top is a negatively charged silicon semiconductor, and the bottom of the panel is a positively charged silicon semiconductor. The placement of these two oppositely charged plates create an electrical field between them, and this field encourages electrons to flow in from the positive silicon layer to the negative layer. This flow of electrons produces an electrical current = solar power to be used in your home!
The current and voltage from each cell’s electrical field results in the production of power, which then leaves the solar panel in the form of a DC electrical current, and runs through an inverter. Many solar power users choose to have their switchboard changed to bi-directional when they are producing solar power to allow any excess energy to be sent in reverse to the power grid.
Solar Panel Maintenance
The silicon which solar panels are composed is very high-grade, meaning that the construction of the panel itself is extremely durable. They are built to withstand elements of heat, cold, rain, and other types of heavy weather. As with anything, your system will lose some of its efficiency over the years, but most systems come with 25+ plus year warranties, ensuring that any major defects or damage done by Mother Nature will be covered. This also means that the power you can expect to get from your system is guaranteed. Your power output should not be less than 80 percent of rated power before the end of your warranty.
Maintenance to your solar panels will be minimal and you’ll be able to rely on them to collect solar energy throughout the year. They will need periodic cleaning, but silicon-based solar panels have been around a long time and have proven their longevity with little issue.
Other Moving Parts
There are a few more components that will factor into your solar panel system including mounting equipment, the inverters, and some wiring and connections to your household fuse box. Your inverter is one part to keep a close eye on and inquire about when shopping around. Ask your contractor for the exact terms of warranty of the inverter, which may vary from the solar panels themselves. Although inverters are quite reliable, they will most likely need replacements before the panels or other parts of the system.
Last but definitely not least in determining the reliability of your solar panels is whom you choose to buy from. You can be sure to speak with reliable, trusted solar installation experts by price shopping within the 123SolarPower marketplace. Fill out the form below to speak to an expert and get a free quote today! All of the solar installation experts in our network have been pre-screened and are eager to answer specific questions provide competitive terms.
You can rest assured that your home solar panels will be converting light from the sun into renewable clean energy for a long time after installation. By choosing the right panels for your needs and using a trusted dealer from 123SolarPower, you’ll be a green energy user in no time!