If you have a home solar for say eight or ten years, you may notice it is less productive than before. Your initial reaction could be to wonder is my solar power degrading. Most solar panels should last longer than 20 years, so your answer may be elsewhere.
Your Solar Power Batteries May Be Degrading
Solar panels are inert things that passively absorb the sun’s energy. Solar batteries, on the other hand, are chemically active as they charge and discharge.
And so, inevitably, they become less active as they begin to wear out. This process, that scientists call ‘degrading’, occurs faster in hot climates. But there are other aspects behind this phenomenon.
So What Causes Battery Degradation?
Your solar power is degrading because of what is happening inside your solar battery. This is the same basic phenomenon that makes your phone battery need recharging more often.
So battery degradation is a gradual loss in the amount of electrical energy that a battery can hold. This is why, after say several years, you may start to wonder why is my solar power degrading.
This loss may be as as much as 20% of the battery’s original storage capacity. And that could translate to 20% less income from the utility, or your lights staying on for that much less time.
Practical Ways to Manage Solar Battery Capacity Loss
You can’t prevent your solar battery degrading, any more than you can stop the flow of an incoming tide. But you can manage it as follows, which is the purpose of this article:
- Set your management system so it only charges to 80%.
- Try your best to avoid draining the battery below 20%,
- Locate your solar battery in a cool place away from heat.
- Don’t connect your battery to high-demand devices.
If the above advice is impractical, then that is not the end of the world. But it does mean you may wonder sooner, why is my solar power degrading faster than my neighbor?
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Understanding Battery Degradation Matters
