If you’re shopping for a solar system, you’ve probably come across the abbreviation “VPP.” What does it stand for? What does it do? Why is it important?
A new solar system is a significant investment for most people. It is proven to save you money over time. But what happens if something goes wrong with it?
Don’t mean to be a raincloud on a sunny day, but preparing for the worst-case situation is something that our customers trust us to do.
At Penrith Solar Centre, we have a comprehensive warranty for service in addition to honouring the warranties of our products. There’s a lot to those warranties though, and this article is going to walk you through everything we do to keep your solar system up and running for years to come.
In this article, you will learn:
- What is Penrith Solar Centre’s Workmanship Warranty?
- What Are the Warranties for the Products Penrith Solar Centre Installs?
- PSC Workmanship Warranty vs. The Other Guys
- String Solar Subcontractor Repair Cycle
- What’s the Fine Print? (There’s Always Fine Print)
By the time you finish reading, you’ll have a complete understanding of what we offer in terms of support. It’s one of the reasons why we’re the premier solar installer in the Sydney metro area.
What Is Penrith Solar Centre’s Workmanship Warranty?
Penrith Solar Centre backs the products it installs, but as we’ve stated from time to time on this blog and in these articles, a solar system is only as good as its installation. Installers who cut corners create problems for customers that won’t surface for years.
We stand behind the quality of our workmanship and offer a ten-year workmanship warranty on every installation. It’s extended to all our customers, whether it’s a solar system, a battery installation, or a system with a battery.
Just call us and we’ll have a team at your home diagnosing and repairing whatever is troubling your solar system. It’s simple and straightforward: if we installed your solar system, we’re with you for at least ten years.
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What Are The Warranties For The Products Penrith Solar Centre Installs?
We install solar panels and batteries. We honour the warranties of the solar panels, the microinverters, the batteries, and the racking that keeps everything bolted to the roof. There are also additional components that are installed to complement your system that carry warranties as well.
Here is the information from the manufacturer for each product we install.
What Is The Warranty For Trina Solar Vertex S+ Solar Panels?
We exclusively install Trina solar panels. This particular model comes with a 25-year product warranty and a 30-year power warranty. What’s the difference between those two types of warranties?
The 25-year product warranty guarantees the panel’s structural integrity for 25 years.
The 30-year performance warranty guarantees the panel’s power output will remain above a certain threshold. Solar panels do lose a slight amount of efficiency over time. In the case of Trina Solar Vertex S+ panels, the first year they are guaranteed at 99% efficiency and then they are expected to lose about 0.4% for each year. After 30 years, they’ll have lost 12% of their efficiency, which means they’re operating at around 88% efficiency compared to when they were originally installed.
For more information about the Trina solar panels we install and their warranty, you can visit Trina’s website here.
What Is The Warranty For Enphase Microinverters?
This one is interesting. In Australia, Enphase warranties their microinverters for 15 years. But in the United States, where consumer protections are a little looser, they warranty their microinverters for 25 years.
Why is that? Solar systems in Australia are irradiated more intensely than solar systems in the United States, so there is an issue of how that might affect the projected lifespan of the technology. The climate is just different.
It has more to do with consumer protections in Australia, particularly when the product’s warranty has not yet been fully tested for the projected lifespan.
You can purchase an additional 10-year warranty per microinverter for $20 each for that piece of mind. For more information about Enphase microinverter warranties, please check out this link that has all the information you’ll need about Enphase microinverter warranties here.
What Is The Warranty For Enphase IQ Battery 5P?
This solar battery has one of the best warranties on the market for its class. Enphase covers 15 years or 6,000 cycles, whichever comes first.
A cycle is the full powering up of a battery to full capacity and the complete depletion of all that electricity until it’s empty. This usually happens once a day in most homes, but that depends on a household’s energy consumption patterns.
The warranty starts once the battery is installed and connected to the Enphase Enlighten App by your installer. For more information about the Enphase IQ Battery 5P warranty, you can check out this page about Enphase IQ Battery warranty here.
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What Is The Warranty For Enphase IQ Controller?
This piece of equipment communicates with IQ Batteries and has a 10-year warranty. It automatically detects grid outages and makes sure your solar system is safely connected to the grid. Like the Enphase IQ Battery 5P, this warranty begins upon installation and connection to the Enphase Enlighten App.
Documentation about the warranty for this necessary piece of equipment can be found on the following document from Enphase Energy Warranty for IQ Battery and IQ Controller.
What Is The Warranty For Tesla Powerwall 2?
This warranty is pretty interesting. Tesla offers a warranty that covers 10 years with an unlimited number of cycles. However, if your Powerwall 2 is connected to Tesla’s VPP (virtual power plant), the warranty is extended an additional 5 years. For more information on what a VPP is, please check out this article titled, What is a VPP?
This warranty also covers the Tesla Gateway, a compulsory piece of technology that provides energy management, metering, and monitoring functions for Powerwall. It controls connection to the grid, safely disconnects your home and starts backup operation during an outage.
Please note that if you prefer to not connect your Powerwall to the app (which will greatly inhibit your ability to monitor your electricity usage and make it difficult to maximise your energy efficiency) then the warranty only covers a 4-year period.
For more information on the warranty for the Tesla Powerwall 2, please check out this pdf about the warranty for a Tesla Powerwall 2.
What Is The Warranty For Schletter Mounting System?
This is a straightforward 25-year warranty (though there is some fine print about temperature ranges and snow loads).
For more information on the manufacturer warranty for Schletter roof systems, you can check out the following link that will direct you to the warranty page for Schletter solar mounting systems.
Penrith Solar Centre Compared To Others
At Penrith Solar Centre, we offer a 10-year workmanship warranty because we know how we would want to be treated as a customer. Fortunately, the products we install are of great quality and the need to repair and replace them are few and far between.
String Solar Subcontractor Repair Cycle
When you install a string system, make sure you read the fine print that comes with the installation guarantee. Oftentimes, at least in the Sydney metro area, a solar retailer will hire a subcontractor to do the installation.
If the subcontractor is hired by a solar sales company, there’s a service cycle of sadness that you’ll need to navigate if your solar system needs repairs or warranty fulfilment. The subcontractor will direct you to the sales company that hired them, the sales company will direct you to the subcontractor, and you’ll be caught in the middle. This situation is particularly challenging when it comes to getting warranties fulfilled.
This is particularly awful because while this cycle of sadness is happening, your solar system is out of commission and you’re spending money on grid electricity again.
This doesn’t happen every time, but it happens often enough for us to mention it. If you’re interested in learning more about the difference between in-house installers and subcontractors, you might want to check out this article titled, In-house Installers vs Subcontractors: Which is Better?
What’s The Fine Print? (There’s Always Fine Print)
The fine print in a warranty contract is important. Here are the points we need to make you aware of so you’re not surprised if there’s a situation we can’t honour.
Just to warn you, the language here does get a bit technical. It’s been directly copied and pasted from our website.
Transferability: The warranty for workmanship and the product warranties are transferable by the original purchaser of the solar system to any subsequent purchaser of the premises at which the solar system is installed.
Repairs or Replacements: Penrith Solar Centre agree to implement repairs and or replacements within a reasonable time of 7 days following a claim having been initiated between the consumer and Penrith Solar Centre Administration.
Effectiveness: This warranty only comes into effect once we have received all amounts owing from you in relation to the solar system and the title to the solar system has passed to you.
This warranty will no longer be valid if:
- Anyone other than a Penrith Solar Centre installer, or other Penrith Solar Centre’ authorized person works on (including repairing or altering) the solar system at any time; or
- You fail to comply with all reasonable instructions of Penrith Solar Centre (whether written or verbal) in relation to the operation and care of the solar system.
Exclusions This Warranty Does Not Cover:
Your existing electrical installation, wiring or fuse box.
- Any malicious damage or abuse.
- Damage caused by vermin, animals or pests.
- Damage caused by acts out of “human control” improper voltage or power surges, accidents or other acts beyond our reasonable control.
- Any damage to your property caused by the solar system failing or breaking.
- Any alterations to your property that are a necessary consequence of the provision of the installation services; or
- Any damage of any kind that was not reasonably foreseeable or that could not have been expected to result from:
- A failure to provide the installation services as required by your agreement with us; and/or
- The installation services fail to meet any consumer guarantee set out in the Australian Consumer Law.
Australian Consumer Law Guarantees and Remedies: Our installation services come with guarantees that cannot be excluded under the Australian Consumer Law.
In the case of a problem with any installation services which is not defined as a ‘major failure’ under the Australian Consumer Law and which is capable of being remedied, you must provide us with an opportunity to remedy the problem free of charge within a reasonable time.
In the case of a problem with any installation services which is defined as a ‘major failure’ under the Australian Consumer Law or which is not capable of being remedied, you are entitled to:
- Cancel your agreement with us and get a refund; or
- Get compensation for the difference in value of the installation services delivered and what was paid for by you.
You are also entitled to compensation for any reasonably foreseeable loss or damage resulting from:
- Our failure to provide the installation services as required by your agreement with us; and/or
- The installation services failed to meet any consumer guarantee under the Australian Consumer Law.
Penrith Solar Centre will not be liable to you for any personal injury or any loss or damage of any kind that was not reasonably foreseeable or that could not have been expected to result from the circumstances set out above.
Warranties & Peace Of Mind
By now you should have a clearer understanding of Penrith Solar Centre’s warranty process and what the warranties are for the products we install. As you can see, they’re backed by pretty hefty warranties. We wouldn’t have it any other way.
Penrith Solar Centre will be with you on your solar journey long after the installation of your system, battery, or system with a battery.
All you ever need to do is give us a call.
If you’re interested in learning more about the performance of the products we install, you might want to start out by reading this article titled, What is the Lifespan of the Tesla Powerwall2?
