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Solar Installer GuildUnited States · independent

After it is on the roof

What happens if my solar installer goes out of business?

The short answer

The manufacturer warranties on the panels and inverter survive, because they are the manufacturers' obligations. The installer's own workmanship warranty generally does not, and finding another company to service somebody else's installation is harder and more expensive than it should be. What makes it possible is your documentation.

Keep these, now, before you need them

  • The contract and the workmanship warranty document.
  • Equipment model and serial numbers for panels, inverter, optimisers and battery.
  • The as-built system design and the string configuration.
  • Permit and inspection records, and the permission to operate notice.
  • Monitoring account credentials and which platform it is on.
  • The interconnection agreement with your utility.

What to do if it happens

  1. Find out whether the business was acquired rather than closed. Obligations often transfer, and it is worth establishing before assuming.
  2. Contact the equipment manufacturers directly. They maintain networks of service companies and will often name one.
  3. Ask whether your monitoring platform can be transferred to a new service provider.
  4. For any financing or lease, contact the finance company: the obligation continues regardless of who installed it.

This is the strongest argument for weighing how long a company has traded and for keeping every document from the day of installation. A well-documented system is serviceable by anyone; an undocumented one is a puzzle nobody wants to be paid to solve.

Also asked

Does the panel warranty still work?

Generally yes, because it is the manufacturer's obligation. What is usually missing is the labour to diagnose the fault and to remove and refit the panel, which the workmanship warranty would have covered. A free replacement panel still costs a service visit and roof work.

The long version

After the installation

Permission to operate, monitoring, what a workmanship warranty covers, and what happens if your installer disappears.

General information about solar and about hiring, not advice about your roof or your tax affairs. Incentives, net metering and contractor licensing are set federally, by state, and by your utility, and all of them change. The authority that publishes the rule is the current answer.