Does anyone know what is life cycle for solar panel? Decade?

For PV, I use 30 year life cycles for typical Mono or Poly crystalline. Lot less for thin film - probably 12-15 but the industry is too new to have a benchmark. There are panels installed in the 60's still producing energy today, of course at lower efficiencies.

Glazed Flat plate thermal collectors also have 30 year life cycle. Evacuated tubes 12-15 MAX, depending on the climate.

In case you are referring to energy life cycle (energy payback period), the answer would be less than a decade (of course, these numbers depend on countless variables -- the technology, level of vertical integration of a manufacturer, efficiency of the manufacturer's production process, volume of production, etc.). In general, there has been vast improvement in the manufacturing process over the last few years -- previously the energy life cycle may have been on the order of 5 to 8 yrs.

Estimates from a recent report I read are as follows:

CdTe = 2.5 yrs
mc-Si = 2.2 yrs
c-Si = 2.8 yrs
a-Si = 2.4 yrs
CIGS = 2.1 yrs

Thanks for detailed explanation. Did you know that Sonyo just launched a portable solar charger this Aug? It can be fully charged in 1.5 or 3 days. And then the charger can charge cell phone battary around 1 or 1.5 times. But, what do you think if it is possible to develop a solar charger for PC battery? How long can it be charge? What is cost benefit comparing with using AC adapter?

You can develop your own solar charger with your own panel, car adapter, soldering iron.wiring

Our oldest panels were installed in 1981 - Thin Film a-SI Birmingham Alabama Power Plant

Cheers

Joe

Most manufactuers guarantee output for 15yrs up to 80% and sliding scale thereafter. Cells incorperated into BIPV are the same although the glass will only probably carry a 10 yr warranty.

Assuming the life cycle means usable life at a minimum performance level and assuming "panel" includes all the components used to make a panel, you are actually talking about reliability model to predict a timeframe within which a panel can still function at a min. expectation. Warranty has nothing to do with product designed life. Solar cell, solder line, laminate, junction box, cable and other optional electronics all contribute to the usable life.

MTTF (mean time to failure) is what most system designers would care. Each component in PV panel will have a specific failure mode contributing to MTTF that also depends on the operating environment (outdoor, indoor, temperature/humidity etc.). There is no quick and easy answer to the question of "life cycle of panel".

For thin film PV, most high quality manufacturers offer a 20-25 year warranty with a residual output of 80% of nominal rated wattage. So while a module could fail before then, especially when considering the MTTF concept, the module could be replaced under warranty. This would effectively give the warranteed lifetime or even beyond. It really depends on if you are looking at the technical lifetime or the commercial lifetime.