How Long Do Solar Panels Last?

We get a lot of questions about solar power. That’s why we’ve introduced “The Facts of Light” — a place where you can inquire about all things solar, and we’ll do our best to get you the answers.

We live in a throwaway society. Even our phones and our laptops — incredibly sophisticated, high-tech and well-designed pieces of equipment — only last a few years before we need to replace them. We might get our cars to last more than 10 years if we can put up with some repairs and diligent maintenance, but, frankly, most things aren’t very durable.

Solar panels, by comparison, are in it for the long haul. There are no digital processors, no delicate motherboards, no flywheels, no pumps and no fans. There are very few moving parts that can break or wear out, and as a result they require almost no maintenance. The components of the panel are durable and include a glass-protected solar cell (often made of silicon) that captures sunlight. A solar panel sits in one place and absorbs the sun. That’s its job.

So, even those old-school panels that went up on the homes of early adopters decades ago are still producing electricity pretty efficiently. And recent testing by outside researchers has found that the useful life of panels installed by SolarCity is 35 years or longer.

Likewise, the US Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has published studies on the durability and effectiveness of solar panels over time, finding solar technology truly does hold up for decades. Indeed, there there are panels out there today that are more than 30 years old (panels from the 1980s!) and still going strong. NREL’s study found that as technology has improved, the long-term performance of panels has only gotten better.

Today’s solar panel systems are just as humble and hard working as the early ones, but they are also lighter-weight, can produce more energy, and are far more stylish

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