Solar panels are usually sold with 25 to 30 years of performance promises. But what happens after that, when the warranty language is long gone and you are
Solar panels are usually sold with 25 to 30 years of performance promises. But what happens after that, when the warranty language is long gone and you are
If you replace panels, the old panels don’t go away. Reuse at lower efficiency seems more viable than recycling.
Yeah, but if you’re a residential solar customer with limited roof space and/or a weight limit, the old panels become a bit of a liability.
Realistically a lot of it is going to end up in Africa on way or another.
I’ve also seen listings for used solar panels one Chinese wholesale marketplaces for 1/3 - 1/2 of the new price.
80% efficacy for 50% of the price sounds like it’s a great deal if the tradeoffs don’t matter.
Could just use them for fence or sunshade on your property somewhere where they’re not getting optimal sun. I mean if the other option is to throw them away might aswell.
a degraded panel in a suboptimal position is probably not worth the effort to install and the resources that would go into supporting it.
a better re-use case would be one where the downsides aren’t exacerbated but a new build panel isn’t justified. also solar panels are supposedly highly recyclable.
I’ve seen people do fences with entirely new ones both because fences are somehow absurdly expensive and solar panels themselves are quite cheap. Especially if it starts near the house anyways the cost of running a line doesn’t seem gargantuan. At the point where you’re replacing them in optimal conditions I’d look at it less as a solar panel and more as free building material that incidentally generates some power