If you’re thinking of installing solar panels, there are two important warranties to watch out for: the workmanship warranty and the full system warranty. A workmanship warranty should come as standard with any solar panel system purchased in Australia. However, a full system warranty is over and above Australian industry standards – and lots of solar companies don’t provide one.

The workmanship warranty only goes so far.  If you’re wanting complete peace of mind that your solar power system will deliver the goods, you need a full system warranty as well as the workmanship warranty. Plus, you need a solar company that’s big enough to still be in business down the track in case you need to make a claim.

On this blog:

• Workmanship warranty: what’s covered
• Full system warranty: what’s covered
• Difference between workmanship and full system warranty
• How to check out the solar company behind the warranties

1. Workmanship warranty: what’s covered

Provided by your Solar Retailer, this warranty covers you if there’s a problem resulting from the workmanship of the installers.

A good workmanship warranty should cover you for:

• any defects in the system caused by workmanship during installation
• rectification of any damage to your property or leaks caused by the system or the installers.

The workmanship warranty should be for a full five years from date of installation.

Where the workmanship warranty applies, the solar company should either:

• re-do or repair the installation; or
• replace any faulty part with a comparable new or refurbished part so that the installation is no longer defective.

This should be done at the cost of the Solar Retailer.

A word of warning: watch out for workmanship warranties that only go half the way.  For example, solar companies that charge you a call-out fee or don’t cover the full cost of replacing parts.  With a good workmanship warranty, you won’t be landed with an invoice for shipping or labour.

2. Full system warranty: what’s covered

Only a few Australia-wide solar companies provide a full system warranty on a solar panel system. That’s a shame for their customers, as this warranty is worth having!

SolarRun is one of the few Solar Retailers who provide a full system warranty to every customer no matter where they are in Australia.

Solar Retailers who provide a full system warranty are demonstrating a commitment to providing their customers with a level of warranty support that goes above and beyond industry standards.

The full system warranty covers the operation and performance of the whole solar power system, including workmanship and products.

Performance of a solar power system means power generation.

So, this warranty provides solar owners with complete peace of mind that their solar panels system will generate the power it is supposed to for the duration of the warranty period.  And if it doesn’t, the full system warranty should state that the system will be rectified at the solar company’s cost.

A full system warranty should be for 5 years from date of installation.

You can see why this is a valuable warranty!

3. Difference between workmanship and full system warranty

Here’s a summary of the difference between a workmanship warranty and a full system warranty.

As you can see, the workmanship warranty is good as far as it goes. When you’ve got a proper full system warranty as well, you’re sorted!

4. How to check out the solar company behind the warranties

Any solar warranty is only as good as the solar company behind it.  There’s no point getting a great looking system warranty if the company backing it goes out of business.

Here we give you the inside information to know what to check in the solar company you’re thinking of selecting for your solar panel installation.

Here’s the checklist:

• Make sure they are a Clean Energy Council Accredited Solar Retailer (this demonstrates commitment to the highest solar industry standards).
• Get a copy of their workmanship warranty and full system warranty before you place your order. Read it carefully and check it covers the points mentioned in this post.
• Make sure the company has been in business for at least 5 years.
• Check out their online customer reviews.
• Ask for customer reference sites you can speak to, in particular those who have made a claim on the workmanship and full system warranties.
• Look for a company that operates at scale. Smaller solar companies can close-up shop more easily and re-emerge elsewhere under a different name. It’s much harder for a big business with lots of staff to do this.

Get the best

Get in touch if you are looking for the peace of mind that comes with a full system warranty for your new solar panel system.  At SolarRun, we provide industry leading warranties so your solar keeps working for you, year after year.

Great solar, with zero hassle.  That’s what we do!