Rules and Guidelines
Want to participate in the discussions? Please read our Community Rules and Guidelines. Need some help? Visit Support and Answers.

  • State Not Answered
  • Locked Locked
  • Replies 15 replies
  • Subscribers 32 subscribers
  • Views 1796 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
You may also be interested in
This discussion has been locked.
You can no longer post new replies to this discussion. If you have a question you can start a new discussion

How do we think they are doing now?

whjohnson
So, in a provocative curious mood on the eve of Easter w/end I began to wonder about PV panels.

There must be many by now which have been in service for 10 years or more.

How do we think they are doing in comparison to when they were new?

How does, or rather, what is a typical rate in efficiency fall-off over time?

My guess is that many, especially those installed on dwellings with difficult accessible roofs will not have been looked at nor cleaned for at least a decade if they have been in service for that long.


What do we reckon? Would a figure of say 50% or less be an unreasonable estimate of today's efficiency level for a decade old installation?

I wonder if Greta does a PV cleaning round in the same way window cleaners do?

Happy Easter.
Parents
  • 0
    ebee:

    Nice one Broadage.


    It always worried me with FITS that the initial batch of companies would fade away after a few years and all guarantees worthless.

    Maybe I`m just a cynic. I do not trust Governments (including our own, of any persuasion)


    And you'd be right.  Many of the installers did go bust.


    The government completely bungled the FIT scheme.  It was supposed to give us a successful UK solar industry.  But instead of tapering off the FIT subsidies slowly over a number of years, they cut it in big steps.  Every time the FIT was cut, all the customers disappeared until the falling price of solar panels made it viable again.  This produced a boom-and-bust cycle, and most of the installers didn't survive.


Reply
  • 0
    ebee:

    Nice one Broadage.


    It always worried me with FITS that the initial batch of companies would fade away after a few years and all guarantees worthless.

    Maybe I`m just a cynic. I do not trust Governments (including our own, of any persuasion)


    And you'd be right.  Many of the installers did go bust.


    The government completely bungled the FIT scheme.  It was supposed to give us a successful UK solar industry.  But instead of tapering off the FIT subsidies slowly over a number of years, they cut it in big steps.  Every time the FIT was cut, all the customers disappeared until the falling price of solar panels made it viable again.  This produced a boom-and-bust cycle, and most of the installers didn't survive.


Children
No Data

Community Rules & Guidelines