Solar Lattice

Stressor

Uneven module aging

ID
stressor:uneven-module-aging
IRI
https://solarlattice.org/kb/stressor/uneven-module-aging
Status
active
Also known as
module-to-module spread, unevenness of the module population

Uneven module aging means that modules in the same plant lose power at different rates over time, instead of all at once at the same rate. Because the plant is an electrical network, weaker modules can hold down the current of the strings or substrings around them. This creates mismatch. It drives the failure mode System Degradation vs Module Degradation: the system loses energy faster than the nameplate module degradation rate suggests. The average module may still be within its warranty while the system shows a larger energy decline. Some spread is present from the start, because even identical parts such as cells, ribbons and bypass diodes vary in initial quality.

<!-- review notes

Claims

degradation_rate

c1 verified · fact nominal 0.1 PERCENT-PER-YR

Conditions: A modeling allowance that some independent engineers add on top of the module degradation rate to cover mismatch when modules degrade at different rates. The source says it is not a universal rule.

Some independent engineers add about 0.1% per year to the module degradation rate when evaluating system degradation.

verified by: joshuahamsaverified on: 2026-10-20

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