[organsnyder]

We're looking into solar for our home. Payback is around a decade (in Michigan), while the components are warrantied between 12 years (invertor) and 24 years (panels). They should last much longer than that: the invertors typically fail like most electronic components (either in the first six months or so, or not for a very long time), while the panels are still above 90% of initial output after 50 years (again, with any catastrophic failures usually occurring early).

The 30% tax credit in the U.S. is scheduled to start winding down next year, so anyone interested in doing it should make sure their installation commences before the end of 2019.

[toomuchtodo]

Get three quotes: https://www.energysage.com

[mk_chan]

I'm not sure where you got that >90% after 50 years metric from. I was under the impression degradation per year is about 0.8%. Which should make the panels drop below 90% of initial in 13 years itself.

[organsnyder]

Depends on the manufacturer, by the looks of it: https://news.energysage.com/how-long-do-solar-panels-last/

.3%/year would be 85% after 50 years, so I was off by a bit.