Energy Payback Time For Solar Panels

The typical lifetime of solar panels is between 20 25 years but some of the best solar panels might stretch beyond this.

Energy payback time for solar panels.

Compare prices from local installers. There are many factors to conisder when looking at the payback period for solar panels. Those solar shoppers will continue to enjoy free electricity for the life of their solar panel systems which can last between 25 and 35 years. Assuming 12 conversion efficiency standard conditions and 1 700 kwh m2per year of available sun light energy the u s.

10 years have passed since that piece was published and since then solar manufacturers have made further inroads in energy efficiency and material usage as it s in their financial interests to do so. The study found it only takes between 1 7 years perth and darwin and 2 3 years hobart for solar systems to pay back the energy consumed during their life cycle. In 2000 the energy payback time of pv systems was estimated as 8 to 11 years and in 2006 this was estimated to be 1 5 to 3 5 years for crystalline silicon silicon pv systems and 1 1 5 years for thin film technologies s. Most homeowners in the united states can expect their solar panels to pay for themselves in between 9 and 12 years depending on the state they live in.

With energy paybacks of 1 to 4 years and assumed life expectancies of 30 years 87 to 97 of the energy that pv systems generate won t be plagued by pollution greenhouse gases and depletion of. Some states like hawaii and massachusetts offer solar payback periods as short as five years while payback time in states like louisiana and north dakota can stretch to 16 years or more. Average is 1 800 alsema calculated a payback of about 4 years for current multicrystalline silicon pv systems. If your cost of installing solar is 20 000 and your system is going to save you 2 500 a year on foregone energy bills your solar panel payback or break even point will be 8 years 20 000 2 500 8.

The typical solar payback period in the u s. Is just above 8 years. Solar panel payback time in the uk. How is the solar panel payback period calculated.

That gives plenty of time for those initial costs to be covered so you can start making a profit on your investment in solar energy.