It’s a situation that fills homeowners with a unique sense of dread. You look at your monitoring app and see a panel is dead, or an inverter is reporting an error. You pick up the phone to call the solar company that gave you a “25-year bumper-to-bumper warranty,” only to hear a disconnected tone. A quick search confirms your worst fear: your installer has gone out of business.
Does this mean your multi-thousand-dollar investment is now completely unprotected? Is your 25-year warranty now just a worthless piece of paper?
The answer, in most cases, is a reassuring NO. Your most valuable warranties are likely still fully intact. The key is understanding that your solar system was always protected by two very different warranties, from two very different companies.
The Two Warranties: A Tale of Two Companies
Understanding this distinction is the key to navigating your situation.
1. The Installer’s Workmanship Warranty (The Bad News)
This warranty covers the quality of the labor performed by the installation crew. It is meant to protect you from issues that arise from the installation process itself, such as:
- A leaking roof caused by improperly sealed roof mounts.
- Loose racking or panels.
- Faulty wiring or incorrect electrical connections.
Unfortunately, because this warranty was provided by the installation company that no longer exists, it is almost certainly void and unenforceable. There is no legal entity left to hold responsible for the quality of the labor.
2. The Manufacturer’s Equipment Warranty (The Good News)
This is the warranty that truly protects your long-term investment. The physical hardware of your system—the solar panels themselves and the critical inverters—are covered by separate, long-term warranties provided directly by the global manufacturers of those components.
Companies like Enphase, SolarEdge, Qcells, Canadian Solar, and others provide these product warranties, and they are completely independent and unaffected by what happened to your local installer. If an inverter dies or a panel fails due to a manufacturing defect, its warranty is still 100% valid.
A Step-by-Step Guide to Filing a Manufacturer’s Warranty Claim
So, how do you actually use the warranty that’s still active? Here is the process.
Step 1: Identify Your Exact Equipment
Look at your original solar contract, sales proposal, or design plans. You need to find the exact make and model number of your solar panels and, more importantly, your inverters or microinverters (as they are the most common point of failure).
Step 2: Document the Equipment Failure
Use your solar monitoring app to gather clear evidence of the problem. This could be screenshots showing zero production from a specific panel (if you have microinverters), or an error code being reported by your string inverter. The more data you have, the smoother the claim process will be.
Step 3: Contact the Manufacturer Directly
Go to the official website for the manufacturer of the faulty component (e.g., Enphase.com, SolarEdge.com). Navigate to their “Support” or “Warranty” section. Most have a clear online process for homeowners to start a warranty claim. You will need to provide the equipment model number, serial numbers (if you have them), and the evidence of failure you gathered.
Step 4: Find a New, Certified Installer for the Service Work
This is a critical step. The manufacturer will ship you the replacement part, but they will not send their own employees to your home to install it. You will need to find a new, local, and reputable solar installer to perform the physical swap. The manufacturer can often provide a list of their certified service partners in your area. Importantly, many manufacturers provide a “labor reimbursement” or stipend to help cover the new installer’s fee for this service work.
A Powerful Secret Weapon: Holding the Finance Company Responsible
So, if the installer is gone and their workmanship warranty is worthless, what do you do about a leaking roof or faulty wiring? It can feel like you have no options left, but this is where a powerful and little-known federal law comes into play: The FTC’s Holder Rule (see the link for more information on how this rule applies).
In simple terms, this rule states that the ultimate holder of your loan contract (the finance company) is subject to all the same legal claims and defenses you would have had against the original seller (the installer).
This means if the installer breached their workmanship warranty by causing a roof leak, you can legally assert that breach against the finance company that is still collecting your monthly payments. While this doesn’t mean the bank will send a roofer to your house, it does mean they are financially liable for the cost of the damages. For example, if a new roofer quotes you $5,000 to fix the leak, that $5,000 becomes a claim you can use as powerful leverage to negotiate a reduction in your loan principal or defend against non-payment.
When the Problem Isn’t Clear-Cut
The biggest challenge arises when it’s unclear if an issue is caused by a faulty part (covered by the manufacturer) or shoddy wiring (a now-void workmanship issue). This is where a dispute can get complicated.
At SolarDispute.com, we specialize in helping homeowners in this exact situation. We can help you analyze your system’s performance data to determine the likely cause of the failure. We prepare the documentation you need to file a strong manufacturer warranty claim. And if a manufacturer is unfairly denying a valid claim, we can connect you with an attorney to ensure your rights are enforced.