Recently I wrote about what to expect and what to look for in a solar warranty. One reader, Mary Ellen, raised a very good question in response. She wondered about the fast pace of solar innovations, including thin-film and other technologies, that might render today’s solar system obsolete by tomorrow. Indeed the solar industry is growing by leaps and bounds, and so is research and development of every facet of it, from new cells to smaller panels to higher efficiencies. So concern about buying now what you could pay half as much for in the near future is certainly a legitimate one.

There are but a few things I can say in response. First is that it is more or less a matter of personal judgment. Yes, the solar industry is changing fast and a variety of factors, including a ramped-up silicon supply and ever-increasing demand, will likely facilitate a fall in prices. As for efficiency, experts all over the world are working on newer and better ways to deliver solar power, but most of these innovations are still in the research phase and are probably 10 to 15 or even more years away from wide scale distribution. So, I suppose, it depends on how long you’re willing to wait. Many existing state solar rebates and incentives decrease over time, foreseeing the inevitable drop in cost. So while prices are higher now, rebates are also the most generous.

Secondly, the beauty of solar panels is that they do not exactly go obsolete. Unlike older cell phones with mediocre batteries that die and are thrown out, solar panels have no such parts. They degrade very little over time and should work for at least 20 years and even longer. Again, it is a matter of personal preference as to what you do right now. Nonetheless, today’s panels will work far into the future and, should technologies increase and panels become more compact, efficient, and cheaper, it will be easy to upgrade and fulfill the remainder of your electricity needs. (more…)

Will My Solar Panels Become Obsolete?

The latest development in the rush to increase efficiency and decrease the cost of solar panels is the microinverter. Developed by Enphase Energy, with the help of numerous venture capitalists, this new innovation promises an inverter for every solar panel in an array. Its creators claim that these inverters can increase efficiency by 5 to 25 percent.

In a typical array one inverter, which converts direct current (DC) to the necessary alternating current (AC) that powers the home, is connected to each and every panel in that array. In the new Enphase Energy design, one microinverter for each panel would reduce installation costs by eliminating the need for many cables running to one single inverter. It would also improve efficiency by cutting down the distance of transmission in which energy is typically lost, allowing the panels to produce more usable electricity. (more…)

Microinverters: The Latest Improvement for Solar Panels