Why should you ignore the solar panel performance warranty?

Solar companies often offer a 25-year warranty on their solar systems, but it is important to understand the difference between performance and product warranties. The 25-year performance warranty is essentially worthless, as no one has claimed on it in Australia. However, the 25-year product warranty is crucial as it covers issues with the junction box, backing sheet, glass or frame. This is especially important considering the number of solar systems that have been installed by companies that have gone bust, leaving customers with orphaned systems.

When selecting a brand of solar panels, it is vital to choose a manufacturer that has been around for a long time and will still be around in the future to honour any problems that may arise. This is important as solar companies are reliant on these manufacturers for the success of their business. Choosing a reputable manufacturer can prevent customers from ending up with a solar system that has been installed by a company or manufacturer that has disappeared.

So a lot of solar companies will sell a solar system based on a 25 year warranty. Now, what most are talking about is a 25-year performance warranty and you know, that's really a worthless warranty. There's nobody in Australia that's claimed on a performance warranty that I'm aware of so far. However, the product warranty that is the main warranty. So performance of 25 years yeah, it doesn't really mean a great deal. But a 25 year product warranty, that's really important because you know that if there's an issue with the junction box or the backing sheet or the glass or the frame, it's all covered. And that's really important when you're installing solar because there's so many, so, so many solar orphans out there that have been installed by companies that have gone bust, and manufacturers that have gone bust, and there's no backup there. And when we're choosing a brand to bring into our range, it's really important to know that the company has been around for a long time, and they'll still be around in a long time if there's an issue.

When you're buying solar, you really don't want to end up like, you know, I'm sure some of your neighbours have got solar power systems that the installers and the manufacturers have disappeared. We're very careful with our product selection to ensure that that won't happen. Essentially we're riding our whole business on these manufacturers. So it's really crucial that we choose good manufacturers at the start and they'll still be there to honour any problems, if the unfortunate event arose that we needed them.