Why is the solar panel performance warranty often not worth the paper it's written on?

When it comes to solar panels, a 25-year performance warranty sounds impressive, but it may not actually hold up when put to the test. While it's marketed as a guarantee, the reality is that it's nearly impossible to prove that a panel will perform for 25 years. To test this warranty, you would have to pay to have the panel removed from your roof and sent to Sydney for inspection. Even if an issue is found, the reimbursement may only be a fraction of the cost you paid for the panel.

Instead, many companies offer a 10-12 year product warranty, with some offering a 15-25 year extended warranty that includes labor. While a 25-year performance warranty might sound appealing, it's important to consider the practicality of such a guarantee and weigh it against other aspects of a manufacturer's warranty.

All panels have a 25-year performance warranty, it's more of a performance guarantee. Someone years ago got smart with marketing but at the end of the day, it's impossible to actually prove a 25-year performance warranty. You have to pay someone to take the panel off your roof, send it to Sydney. And then, if they do find there's a problem with it, in 10 years time, they might say, oh well, here's $25 back. It's the cost of that panel. So it's cost you $400 to actually get it sent there.

So at the end of the day, the 25 year performance warranty is not worth the paper it's written on. Most products have a 12, or 10 to 12 year product warranty. There's a lot of companies that have gone the next step and extended theirs from 15 years to now 25 years. So it's a 25-year product warranty, that includes labor.