PRODUCT WARRANTY UNLOCKED!!

Warranty is defined as “a written guarantee, issued to the purchaser of an article by its manufacturer, promising to repair or replace it if necessary within a specified period of time” [1]. So warranty gives you the comfort that if something happens after purchase of your solar equipment; within warranty conditions; you can get your product repaired or replaced at little or no cost. Manufacturers and suppliers offer a range of types and lengths of warranties; with the most common types of warranties being the following:

a) Product warranty (limited/full): warranty on materials and labour: this type of warranty allows the customer to get some components repaired o replaced.. or the whole product replaced within the stated period. Usually comes with a condition that the product is used as intended and installed professionally. Common product warranties are 10 to 12 years for solar panels; inverters- 1 to 5 years; batteries- 6months to 2 years; charge controllers- 1 to 5 years

b) Power Warranty: this warranty covers solar panels. It is a guarantee that the solar panel will produce the rated power on the power curve for a certain period of time provided that it is installed the right way. Common power warranties are 10 years at 90% of rated power and 25 years at 80% rated power.

c) Workmanship Warranty- this warranty; stated on its own; usually applies to labour or installation only contracts where the installer guarantees the customer that the installation will be done at quality standard and recommended practices; free from any installation-related defects. This naturally does not cover any problems that come with the product itself. Workmanship warranties are usually between 1 to 2 years.

Ok below we will list the common things that are covered and NOT covered in solar equipment warranties:

Please note that with some manufacturers and suppliers you can actually purchase additional warranty (at a cost of an additional 10-15% of product cost). So for example you can increase your Victron inverter warranty from the given 5years to 10years by purchasing the additional warranty.

So warranty will definitely protect your investment in the solar system and give you some level of comfort. It’s also important to ensure that even beyond warranty periods your suppler and/or installer can offer you after sales services. As seen above it is absolutely crucial to first go through warranty conditions of each of your products and ensure you get design and installation done by professional installers to ensure the warranty conditions are maintained.

Oh and it goes without saying that you need to keep your receipts and invoice together with the stated warranty conditions!!

ALL our products have warranty. Please visit our online store https://www.rentechsyst.com/shop for warranty periods and conditions.

SOURCES:

1. https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en/

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About Author:

Lovewell Chitiyo is a Mechanical Engineer with 15 years experience in the building services Engineering consultancy, renewable energy systems and sustainable design fields. He is currently studying Masters in Renewable Energy at Stellenbosch University in South Africa

Lovewell is an Accredited Professional with the Green Building Council of South Africa for Existing Buildings Performance and New Buildings; Interiors, holding several qualifications and certification in Renewable Energy and Sustainability.

Lovewell also has vast experience in design, supervision, installation and commissioning of several projects locally and regionally in the last 15 years.