Solar install in Austin 3 years ago vs today, crazy efficiency gap

Watching my neighbor's 2019 panels hit 12kWh yesterday while my new ones barely made 9kWh got me wondering if the efficiency gains are actually worth the sticker shock, or if I just got a bad installer in Cedar Park, has anyone else compared old vs new setups side by side?

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1 Comment

the_morgan2d ago

Whoa, that's a huge gap, but I'd bet money it's not the panel age. I've seen this exact thing with setups close to mine. Check if your inverter is clipping or if the string layout is bad, one shaded panel can drag the whole thing down. Also, dirt and dust in Cedar Park gets brutal, a simple rinse might get you back 5-10%. And honestly, a bad installer who didn't angle your panels right for the Texas sun will cost you more than any tech upgrade from 2019. I'd get your monitoring data checked against the weather first before you blame the hardware.