Considering purchasing solar panels? You have seen and read all the hype about them, electricity prices are going through the roof (pardon the pun) so great savings if you install solar panels. Maybe may be not!
Look past all the hype and bring into consideration solar panels need to be regularly cleaned as most solar panels sit flat on the roof, they will collect wind blown dusts, road grime, pollution, pollens and among other things bird poo. How often they need cleaning will depend on where you live. During their life cycle solar panels could also need repair.
So depending on where you live will determine how often they need cleaning, this could be anywhere from 4 times to 12 times a year. If you want to get optimum results from their installation to save money on electricity, otherwise the output is compromised.
The other thing is do you want to get up on a roof and clean them or can you get up on a roof? If you do not you would have to figure in cleaning at least 4 times a year to get optimum value, this will be quite expensive over the 20 year life cycle of your solar panels.
Which brings us to the question how long will it take to get your original investment as well as all the maintenance back so you start to make a profit? It is all a hypothetical however solar panel salesmen will give you all the jargon but you will not get any guarantees. You will hear a lot of conflicting information with some claiming solar panels could last up to 40 years and give you some statistics about some solar panels that lasted up to 40 years however they will not tell you those panels costs hundreds of thousands of dollars.
They will also tell you that in 20 years they will still retain 80% output however this is another untruth, the fact is in 20 years they will be lucky to retain 20% of their output.
By saying solar panels would last up to 20-25 years they really do not know, the only way you can honestly find out is in 20-25 years time, then you will see what output they retain.
Then there is the other problem: a roof is designed to run water not have permanent fixtures lay directly or 50mil above the roof there will be the possibility of a roof leak under the solar panels especially on a tiled roof you can have a hair crack in a tile that will separate once the tiles have expanded and contracted with winter and summer and boy if you get a leak under solar panels it is going to cost you big bucks to get rid of it imagine the damage it would cause until rectified. The other thing is with the panels slightly off the roof, rubbish will collect under the solar panels, leaves, twigs and dust etc. This would also be a possibility of leaking due to damming of water between the tiles and the solar panels.
In conclusion so how long do you think it will take to get your money back will you make money or will you just break even this is a hypothetical that no one knows. Ask a solar panel salesman he will tell you.
This is not to try to disillusion you, just to give you an alternative theory.
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