Questions about solar panel quality

[DiscoMick]

'Caring about price and not quality': Obsession with cheap solar is derailing market, insiders say
Australia's obsession with cheap solar is derailing the market, insiders say - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) (http://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-05-27/australias-obsession-with-cheap-solar-derailing-market-insiders/11139856)

[JDNSW]

I can only speak from experience, but my initial installation lasted nearly 25 years with no measurable degradation until it was damaged by lightning and replaced (insurance).

Haven't had the new system long enough to expect any issues, but the installer was not a low price one. And for those maintaining that the price has come down - the new system was almost double that of 1994.

A large part of the increased cost was the red tape that has multiplied in the last 25 years, but I suspect that because the insurer was paying for it that may have upped the price as well.

[roverrescue]

John
Can I ask where the lightening hit was that required panel replacement?
I am getting quotes currently for a 10kW grid tie system
We get some intense summer storms
I know the panels have reasonable hail protection but I wonder if some lightening mitigation is a good idea?

S

[JDNSW]

I never did find out where it actually hit, but it was awfully close to the house, as there was no perceptible gap between the flash and the bang.

This killed the inverters, and one charge controller (I had a double system). The supplier employed by the insurer insisted on replacing everything, presumably on the basis that they had to guarantee their work, and they were not about to guarantee anything that "could" have been damaged by the lightning. The lightning strike also fried all the telephones in the house, and part of the house telephone wiring. No other electrical devices were damaged.

My personal belief is the old panels are perfectly OK - but I would not guarantee it!