Every solar energy system may experience cell degradation, wire resistance, mechanical deformation due to weather cycling, and electrical component failure. System degradation results in the decrease of energy production (kWh) over time. The amount of degradation depends on the PV technology, local climate, and other application-dependent properties.
How is system degradation calculated in Sighten?
Sighten accounts for system degradation on an annual basis by applying a degradation percentage, or rate, for each year of the solar energy system's lifetime, beginning in Year 2. No degradation is applied to year 1 production estimates in Sighten.
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In this example, the cumulative system degradation over a 20-year lifetime would be 19 x 0.7% = 13.3% meaning that in Year 20, the production would be degraded by this amount on a year-to-year basis.
How is system degradation configured in Sighten?
There are four ways system degradation is configured on the platform. The degradation can be set by: the financier, module, organization, or Sighten default. We'll discuss them according to their level of hierarchy and how they are configured:
1 Financier degradation configurability
This is a specific degradation rate required for select integrated financing programs within our portal. This will not actually modify the system production, but will be a factor in TPO products / cash flows when applicable. There is currently only one financier in our portal utilizing this functionality.
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Please contact your Sighten Account Manager and/or submit a request to Sighten support to revise this value.
2 Module-specific degradation configurability
This is a fixed value provided by a spec sheet or a manufacturer that we have added for specific models. Thus, when this model is used for a job, Sighten will use the module-specific degradation value instead of the organization level. This is somewhat new functionality, so we are still building out the database and your input here is very helpful.
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To configure the production degradation for your company, please contact Sighten support at support@sighten.io and submit a request. To configure the production degradation rate for integrated solar financing products, please contact the financier's representative and submit a request.
4 Sighten-default degradation rate
If an organization does not set a degradation rate, it will be 0.7% (Sighten default) for all jobs provided that no financier-specific or module-specific degradation % applies to the job.
System degradation impacts
Annual system production degradation affects quotes, proposals and contracts in the following ways:
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