and how well do they stand-up against hail and storms?
This has a lot to do with the materials. Frames also make a difference in durability of your solar panels. Today, most PV panels are framed in aluminum, which is sturdy and light. A friend of mine installed a system big enough to power his home in 2007. We have crazy weather in Indiana and there hasn't been any damage yet from hail and storms. Some companies give 25-35 year warranties. So I would think that they last at least that long! :)
warranties are meaningless to predict life of anything. In Oklahoma you get a warranty on everything, the warranty goes like this If you buy a product and you walk out the door with it, and that product breaks into two pieces, Your warranty is that you get to keep both pieces. If the solar panel is broken by hail and trust me this happens, its up to YOU to fix. OH, and if you didn't tell your insurance company, they they won't have to pay. Most people carry at least $1000 deductible, so, you break a $1000 panel, it is your loss. PV panels degrade over time. After 20 years you may only get 60 to 80% of the original panels output. If a panel fails within the PV makers 20 year warranty period, you won't get a free one, you'll have to pay for normal wear and tare, shipping, handling, installation, and even worse, their new panel may not work with your old panel. Just figure on replacing the whole electrical system every 10 years and the panels every 20 years.
