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Pedaldude

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...With solar panels having a service life of 25yrs+
One of the problems with degradation rates is that it's a moving target, there are still late 70's PV panels that are making usable output, some closer than not to their original output. The brand name panels are pretty good at exceeding their expected useful life. However, with performance and cost being a factor one must be wary about some of the newer brands or technology if looking long term.

Anyone in the Northeast can also count on extra service life because of reduced solar exposure, which is a degradation factor in many panels. So barring environmental or catastrophic damage, a PV solar array could potentially last a lifetime.

Here in the Southwest, where you can actually run PV panels at a profit, the demand is high and there's a secondary market of used and new damaged panels. It's crazy how cheaply you can find panels, inverters and other components are a different matter.

One increasing trend is solar panel theft, a couple guys with a van, ladder and some cordless tools can make off with an entire system in less time than it took to install. Either while you're away on vacation, or even home after knocking on the door with a clipboard and hard hat claiming to be from the solar leasing company to 'upgrade' your system! Anyone with a ranch home should look into some security measures before it becomes more popular.

In theory..you'd get some recoupment in an increased sales price(if you had to move). However that is far from a sure thing.
If you own the system, you can always take it with you or part it out. Though the installation cost is doubled or lost, so depending on the time spent installed and your location it could be worth it.

Here in AZ, some utilities are allowing homeowner DIY installation for grid attached solar which brings down the cost. Depending on how big the system is and individual use, with used panels and new micro inverters a system could pay for itself and generate income after only a few years! Unfortunately, once saturated it's likely that grid attached residential installations will either be grandfathered, or banned outright like in Hawaii, where residential solar owners need to operate off-grid. Arguably though, in Hawaii you don't really need much electricity anyway.
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