Simply Solar LLC has an industry-leading warranty on their solar power systems. It covers you for 25 years. Of course, if you look around, almost everyone else has a 25-year warranty too, so how can we call ours “industry-leading”? The answer is in the details.
Warranties on solar panels come from the panel manufacturer, not the solar installation company. This means that if a manufacturer makes a good quality panel, and has confidence in their product, they will have a really good warranty. When trying to compare two 25-year warranties, the first thing we need to focus on is not the time, but rather the degradation of the panel. Yes, in 20 years those cheaply made panels may still be producing electricity, but at what rate? Maybe 50%? But since they are technically still working, the warranty doesn’t kick in. What a good solar panel company guarantees is that your panels will not just be performing in 20 years, but that they will be performing very well, or they’ll be replaced.
This is why Simply Solar LLC chooses to use high-quality Solaria panels. Solaria panels come out the gate leagues above their competitors by producing 400 watts per panel, as opposed to their competitors’ mid to lower 350-watt range. They also have 20% greater efficiency than their competitors’ panels. This means you need fewer panels to produce even more electricity. The warranty for these panels is 25 years, but the breakdown of this warranty is where you see the confidence in their product.
In the first year of owning your panels, each panel must be performing at 98% or better (usually 99-100%), or they will be replaced at no cost to the owner. At ten years of owning the panels, there would be expected wear and tear from the weather, but each panel must be performing at 95%, or they get replaced at no cost to the owner. That means that at a decade of use, those panels can only have a 3% loss or they are replaced. At 25 years of ownership, each panel must be performing at 86% or above, or they are replaced at no cost to the owner. This is a first-class warranty, and on top of that, when you work with Simply Solar LLC we handle all of it. We deal with the manufacturer and warranty information. Solar companies that hire subcontractors can encounter issues of dispute between the company and the subcontractor as to who is responsible to fulfill the labor part of the warranty, leading to delays in service. Since Simply Solar LLC does everything in-house and does not hire subcontractors, there are no complications; we take care of everything.
Solar systems require more than just panels to operate, and one of the key parts is the inverter. There are two types of inverters, centralized and micro. Both of these types carry warranties, but again, the truth is in the details.
Centralized inverters usually have a 10-15 year manufacturer’s warranty, and will often give you the option to purchase an extended warranty but with that, you would essentially just be purchasing the second inverter to replace the first. Most likely your centralized inverter will go out before your panels do, which means you will have added complications with replacement. Since centralized inverters cannot track individual panels for efficiency, if you suspect that your system is not performing well, the solar company would need to come out and disconnect your panels one at a time to try and find the bad panel. That process is going to take them a lot of time and money so they aren’t going to want to do that unless your whole system goes out. This entire situation opens up a loophole for them to say that there isn’t anything wrong with your panels, but rather that you increased your usage, leaving you with a faulty panel and an unused warranty.
The microinverters (the other type of inverter) on our Solaria panels, come with a 25-year warranty. The microinverters allow for the data collection on every individual panel, and they can collect those data points every 15 minutes so you can actually see if it is performing optimally. You have access to all of this data, as does Simply Solar LLC. We actively watch and monitor this data to make sure that your system is working correctly for the 25 years of the warranty. With our product’s warranties, absolutely everything is covered for 25 years, the panels, the inverters, and the labor. 25 years is a long time, and you may not stay in your home for that entire time, so rest assured that the manufacturer’s warranty will go to the next owner of the home.
On top of the manufacturer’s warranty, Simply Solar LLC also has a 10-year roofing warranty. This means that if work is needed where we attached the panels to your roof within 10 years, we will fix it. In addition, during those 25 years that your system is warrantied, we will remove and reinstall your system one time for re-roofing, at no cost to you! Be wary of companies that offer a longer roofing warranty because they are most often empty promises. Roofs don’t last forever, so if you’re seeing problems with your roof 10 years after your solar was installed, you need a roofing company because it’s time to replace your roof whether or not you had solar installed. This is why we offer one free solar system removal and reinstall, because sometimes you just need a new roof! If a solar company is telling you that they can warranty your roof for 25 years, just be cautious, because they may not plan on being around to fulfill that warranty. It is a sad and disappointing reality, but some companies are created to make a quick buck and then dissolve so they don’t have to worry about anything they promised because they won’t exist when it comes time to make good on those promises. We want to combat those companies by being an honest company that gives you a quality solar system, with no surprises. Simply Solar LLC wants to be around for a long time because we believe in what we do. But this information may have got you wondering “Okay, but what if Simply Solar LLC goes out of business?” Well, we’ve got you covered then too. We’ve chosen a manufacturer that’s been in the business for over 20 years and is in California. If one of your panels stops working properly, their 25 year warranty still applies. They will pay fair market value to get the panel replaced. So they send you a free panel, you hire a company that will install it and send the manufacturer the invoice and they will reimburse you for labor costs.
Now that you know the details of different warranties, you can see why Simply Solar LLC chooses to use the best products with the best warranties. If you decide to go solar, we want you to do so with the confidence to know that you are guaranteed an efficient and properly operating system that will save you money.