Hello, I installed a new Solar System Mar 19 but a few weeks ago - after perusing my electrical bill and noticing the large increase and then looking at my Inverter - it presented me with an Error Code. Unable to rectify it myself, my original Solar Installer came out and had a look at it and deemed it un-fixable and they thus replaced the unit entirely. In short, a fairly seemless process carried out well by them. I then asked them 2 questions:
Could I make a claim for re-imbursement of increased electrical costs due to the for the Inverter failure? I admit I do not monitor the unit, its PV Production, what savings I make or anything like that. I just look at my Electricity S/ment every 2 months. Their reply was that âwe donât have the ability to pre-monitor the online portals and wouldnât know the system has no production until our client lodges a service with usâ.
The Inverter Warranty (10 years) does not âre-startâ with the installation of the new unit but only from the initial Installation Date in 2019. Is this right? My new Inverter therefore could cark it in 9 years and I wouldnât be covered.
Appreciate any thoughts / feedback on my 2 queries.
Most inverters (manufacturers) have online reporting of some sort, some from their âcloudâ and others from the inverter acting as a local web host. Whether suppliers monitor on behalf of their customers is company dependent.
My supplier included 10 years of them monitoring my system (enphase microinverters); the system reports production and consumption at 15 minute intervals hosted at enphase; I can also log into my management interface to have a look. The system shows each panel individually as well as the aggregate production and consumption so any failure becomes apparent fairly quickly.
I doubt it since no warranty of which I am aware includes coincidental or collateral damage. What yours covers should be clearly stated in your warranty documentation. The enphase document states in part
IN NO EVENT WILL ENPHASE BE LIABLE FOR ANY SPECIAL, DIRECT, INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOSSES, COSTS OR EXPENSESâŠ
Even if a company was willing to step up (which they will not be) it would be a difficult proposition to establish oneâs loss from solar being down because clouds and weather and hence production are variables. To wit. for the past few weeks Eltham has been so cloudy and rainy my system has been more decorative than useful
In contrast to mine, some contracts state monitoring and reporting problems is solely a customer responsibility.
The definitive advisory document is
You will notice some bits are loose and on the consumer to make their case if the retailer/manufacturer declines warranty service. It also states a new replacement product has similar consumer guarantees to a new product, but the text does not explicitly address whether it is a new warranty or part of the original warranty.
While the written warranty might disavow ongoing support, it might be possible case dependent to call in the ACL guarantees on the basis that the original product was warranted for 10 years so the replacement should reasonably last 10 years, noting the onus is on the consumer to make the point and get the remedy.
There are a number of related topics
and others that can be found using the community search.
Others more eloquent than myself will probably reply also.
The other challenge is knowing and proving what the losses are. If most was exported, the loss might be 1/4 that if it was all used by the household. The actual loss for the billing period wouldnât be easy to determine, if not impossible. It could only ever be a guestimate.
Hello PhilT, I thankyou for your reply and thoughts. It was most welcome and I whilst I agree the re-imbursement maybe a difficult one to prove and pursue, I am going to follow up about the warranty on the new installed Inverter.
It will be informative to hear how that turns out.
Consider:
The economics of this for the supplier/manufacturer are straight forward. Theyâve been paid once only for the product. The selling price considered an accepted level of risk of failure over time.
Perhaps as a gesture of goodwill and as compensation for the consequential losses and inconvenience the supplier may agree to extend the warranty on the replacement beyond the original paid for agreed time at no extra cost. It may prove difficult to achieve as it sets a precedent.
It may be worth considering if there are other precedents around extended warranty periods. Purchase contracts/agreements based on the pro-rata or expired lifetime use are not uncommon. Itâs likely there is a substantial history of settlements that support the principle.
I think we are lucky that the ACL provides options. None appear to support extending the warranty beyond that of the original agreement.
Replaced products must be of an identical type to the product originally supplied. Refunds should be the same amount you have already paid, provided in the same form as your original payment.
The business may take into account how much time has passed since you bought the product considering the following factors:
type of product
how a consumer is likely to use the product
the length of time for which it is reasonable for the product to be used
the amount of use it could reasonably be expected to tolerate before the failure becomes noticeable.
Note it is the business which âmay take into account how much timeâ. Itâs not left to the consumer to decide.
