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Solar Panel Warranties

You Solar Panel Warranty Explained

In solar there is a lot of noise around warranties, in particular solar panel warranties. At Teho we get asked everyday, what are the differences in solar panel warranties? We are going to cover everything you need to know about solar panel warranties. 

There are 2 warranties on a solar panel

  1. Product Warranty, more formally known as at the manufacturer’s product warranty
  2. Performance Warranty, which is more formally known as the linear performance warranty

We will cover off which each covers so you can clearly see the difference between the two. 

Let’s start with the product warranty.

The product warranty exists to cover any manufacturing faults, defects or issues with the solar panel. 

When it comes to what the warranty will cover in terms of faults with the panels, most manufactures are very much the same. If it breaks and it’s their fault, it’s covered under warranty.

This will always exclude external damage such as hail or a tree branch falling on the panel and breaking it, this is something you will need to speak to your insurer about. 

What’s commonly very different from manufacturer to manufacturer is if there is a fault with the panel, what costs will be covered.

The best manufacturers product warranty will cover the removal of the broken panel, disposal of the panel and the reinstallation of a new solar panel. Not so great warranties will only cover the cost of a new panel with the removal and disposal of the old panel left up to you. There are a range of other variations of what the manufacturer will cover. If you aren’t sure, it’s best to read up on the warranty or, ask us.

How Long Is The Product Warranty?

The product warranty of a solar panel will range from 10 years to 30 years. Budget solar panels will be on the short end of the scale and premium solar panels are at the top end of the scale.

Is The Product Warranty Important?

Yes of course it’s important to have a good warranty but it’s not the most important thing to consider when getting solar installed. There are many other factors that need to be considered when purchasing a solar system.

Who Is Behind The Warranty?

The manufacturer behind the warranty is more important than the warranty itself. It’s great to boast a big long warranty but the question is, will the manufacturer be around long enough to honour the warranty? You could have a 100 year warranty but if no one is there to support it, it isn’t worth much is it. 

Who Do You Call To Claim The Product Warranty?

If you think there is a fault with a solar panel we suggest your first call is to the solar retailer or installer who installed the system for you. The retailer or installer who installed the system will come out and diagnose the issue and then if there is an issue they can help you along with the warranty claim process. This is why choosing a good solar retailer is extremely important. 

If you are not able to contact the retailer or installer for whatever reason, your next point of call is the manufacturer of the solar panel. If for some crazy reason you decided to purchase a solar panel from someone who doesn’t have an Australian office, this might be a very difficult conversation…. we wish you the best of luck.

Your last attempt if the first two don’t work is to do some research on who is the wholesaler of the solar panel you have purchased. They could then give you a hand with your dodgy panel.

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The Performance Warranty

We won’t waffle on too much about the performance warranty because as you’re about to learn, we aren’t big fans. 

The solar panel warranty is unfortunately what is talked about a lot in dodgy solar companies pitch, this is because it’s based on a 25 year period, sometimes 30. Which is a really big number.

They state the warranty on their solar panels is 25 years but this is the performance warranty. Not the product warranty.

 

The linear performance warranty will warrant the expected degradation of output over the term of the warranty. A good performance warranty will show an output of 84% at 25 years while an outstanding performance warranty will show an output of 90% and above at 25 years. 

 

We here at Teho don’t believe the performance warranty of the solar panel is really worth the paper it’s written on.

We find it hard to understand how an everyday consumer will be able to monitor and graph the expected performance of a solar panel and compare that against the warranty. 

There might be a case when you have installed the panels with Enphase Microinverters or an Optimiser solution with monitoring but then who has the time to run the data each year and compare back….then you have to consider dirt, changes in weather patterns and inverter performance losses ….. But you get the point.

We aren’t aware of anyone who has successfully claimed a performance warranty. There are so many variables and it is very difficult for a normal person to be able to prove the difference. A solar farm, maybe

Summary

Solar panel warranties are important but not the defining factor when installing solar on your home or business – there are a lot of other factors to consider. 

And remember, the product warranty is much more important than the performance warranty.

FAQ

Most frequently asked questions and answers

Solar panel warranties range from 10 years to 30 years. Be careful when researching making sure sure you are comparing the right warranty (performance or product).

While these can be complex simply put, product warranties cover the physical solar panel itself and performance warranties cover the output of the panel over its lifetime. 

Manufactures are constantly changing their warranties to keep up with each other. Currently, the best product warranty we know of is 30 years. 

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