UK Solar Warranties & Guarantees explained

In the solar world, there’s lots of guarantees and warranties, it’s not always clear exactly what each different offering covers, that’s why we’ve written this brief guide to help.

Product Warranties

Product warranties or guarantees are supplied by the manufacturer of solar equipment to make sure the products are in good condition and ready for installation.

The manufacturers will replace solar equipment including panels, inverters, and batteries etc if they are broken on arrival or break down within the product warranty range.

Most solar product warranties are between 10-12 years.

At Glenfield Electrical we like to recommend products with longer warranties as they represent better long term value for money in our experience.

Performance Warranties

As solar panels degrade over time the power production drops. Sola panel manufacturers offer performance warranties which guarantee a percentage of the original output over 25 years.

The degradation is measured in the percentage power loss each year. Usually, manufacturers guarantee that their panels won’t lose more than 0.5% of their output each year.

After 25 years the usual degradation rate is 20% so your panels will be 80% as effective as when first installed.

Installation Guarantee

Solar installers must provide a minimum of a 2 year installation guarantee which is also transferable if you sell your home. This guarantee also must be insured with an Insurance Backed Guarantee.

At Glenfield Electrical we provide a 5 year workmanship guarantee on our labour as standard.

Insurance Backed Guarantee (IBG)

To meet the strict MCS scheme (The solar panel installation accreditation companies need) criteria installers must offer an Insurance Backed Guarantee so that if a company is dissolved or goes under the Insurance Backed Guarantee pays for another company to rectify any issues with the solar panel system.

The Renewable Energy Consumer Codes like HIES or The RECC also ensure that installers provide an IBG.