Our standard warranty is 10 years on our workmanship. Our initial contracts stated a standard one year warranty on workmanship, however as our installations aged, we were happy to learn that our workmanship is such that warranty issues never come up, so we gradually lengthened our warranty, and now after 12 years, we are very comfortable offering 10 year warranties on our work.
The standard inverter warranties are now 10 or 15 years, but in the early 2000’s, five years was the industry standard, and some of the inverters we sold from this era have since failed.
We recently heard from the current occupants of a home that had a system installed in 2004 that the system was not working. Dr. Meyers, our original client who built this home, loved fishing and was tragically lost at sea shortly after the project was completed. During our initial phase of business we sold the materials for the first 8 projects at our wholesale cost, in order to promote the technology and learn about the equipment without making a profit, and also to show gratitude to our initial clients. Dr. Meyers’ project was one of those initial projects.
Upon arriving to troubleshoot, Steve determined the inverter had failed and was able to install another used SunnyBoy 2500 that had been originally installed on my home, for use with an array that has now been upgraded with more modules and a larger inverter. There is no remaining warranty on this inverter and there is no telling how long it will last, but the system is back up and running and once again producing clean power.
Although the system is over 10 years old, has no remaining warranty on labor or inverter, the project was sold without profit, and another contractor actually performed the installation, we felt able to do this repair with no need to charge the owner for the time or materials. Thankfully we are busy with great projects and have sufficient time and resources to take care of our clients, and we are happy to do so, especially in memory of a fine man.
https://powertripenergy.com/project/meyers-residence-3-kw-sequim-2004/
2004 pv installation during new home construction. Residence overlooks Sequim Bay.