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Goodbye to the idea that solar panels “die” after 25 years. A new study says the warranty does not mark the end, and real-world performance can last for decades (www.ecoticias.com)

submitted 1 week ago by poVoq@slrpnk.net to c/technology@slrpnk.net

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[–] gandalf_der_12te@discuss.tchncs.de 17 points 1 week ago (1 children)

"warranty" is a label that manufacturers put on the product for legal reasons. there's no reason to assume that the product will break after that point. literally some products last 5x what's written on the warranty.

[–] prime_number_314159@lemmy.world 6 points 1 week ago

In most industries for expensive items, manufacturers devise warranties to run out before the product is broken. Making it longer has a relatively small benefit (consumers might put a little bit more confidence in the longevity of a product with a 25 year warranty than one with a 20 year warranty), and making it too long has a pretty high cost (a bunch of warranty claims).

Especially if the useful lifetime is not well known, the incentive is for manufacturers to underpromise in their warranties. All of this applied to solar panels sold 25 years ago, and 25 years was long enough to sell people in solar panels and a line of credit as something that would pay for itself. In that context, I think it would be surprising if the panels didn't last far longer than the warranty promised.