SOLAR PANEL WARRANTIESAND CONSUMER LAW
There are all sorts of different warranties to consider when it comes to comparing solar power systems and installation quotes. These include:
- Solar panel performance warranty (25 years)
- Solar panel product warranty (10 – 25 years)
- Inverter warranty (5 – 10 years)
- Installation (quality) warranty
- Entire system warranty
Solar panel performance warranty
Most solar panel warranties come with a 25-year performance warranty from the manufacturer. The performance warranty protects you against panels that degrade way faster than what they should. Most performance warranties guarantee that your panels will produce 80% of their rated output after 25 years. It is arguably the least important of all the warranties as it is difficult to prove that inferior performance is solely due to the solar panel module.
Solar panel product warranty
The solar panel product warranty provides you with protection should your system underperform due to faulty modules. The solar panel manufacturer provides the product warranty, and they normally guarantee the module for 10 – 15 years. Better quality solar panels come with a longer product warranty, up to 25 years in some cases.
Performance vs product warranty
Tip: Don’t confuse the performance warranty with the product warranty, as this is one indicator that can separate better quality panels from lower grade modules. The product warranty guarantees that the product will continue working, while the performance warranty provides that the system will deliver a percentage of its rated output after 25 years.
Inverter warranty
The inverter warranty is as important as the product warranty because without a functioning inverter your panels won’t work anyway. The inverter also performs at high temperature and is the system component most likely to fail. Inverters typically come with a 5-year warranty, though in many cases you can pay more to have this extended.
