TL;DR: If your solar installer went out of business, the news is better than it sounds. Panel and inverter warranties belong to the manufacturers, not the installer, so they survive and stay claimable. What usually disappears is the workmanship warranty – the installer’s own promise covering roof penetrations, wiring and mounting. You can still get the system serviced by another local installer or an independent electrician, and some manufacturers will direct you to one. The time to protect yourself is before you sign, not after.
Solar installation is a low-margin, cash-hungry business, and the last few years have been hard on smaller installers. If yours has closed, gone bankrupt or simply stopped answering the phone, your system is not orphaned. It is just missing one of the three warranties you were relying on.
Here is what still applies, what does not, and the order to work through it.
Three Warranties, Three Different Owners
Every solar installation comes with warranties from three separate parties, and they behave differently when an installer closes.
| Warranty | Who backs it | Survives the installer closing? |
|---|---|---|
| Panel product and performance | The panel manufacturer | Yes |
| Inverter | The inverter manufacturer | Yes |
| Workmanship | The installer | Usually no |
The first two are the expensive ones, and they are intact. What you have lost is the coverage for how the system was put on your house – the flashing, the wiring, the mounting hardware and the labour to fix them.
What Still Works, and What to Claim
Manufacturer warranties are unaffected by your installer’s status. A panel with a 25-year performance warranty is still covered at year twelve, and an inverter inside its 10 to 12 year window is still covered as well.
Two practical points worth knowing:
- You may need proof of purchase and installation. The manufacturer will ask for serial numbers, an installation date and usually the original invoice. If you cannot find these, your installer’s closure does not change that – it just makes it harder to prove the date.
- Labour is sometimes covered, sometimes not. Some inverter manufacturers include a labour allowance with certain claims, which pays a local contractor to do the swap. It is worth asking before you assume you are paying for the labour yourself.
What you cannot claim is workmanship. If a roof penetration starts leaking three years after installation, and the installer is gone, the repair is yours. Our guide to what solar warranties cover and for how long sets out the differences in detail.
Who Fixes the System Now
You have three routes, and the right one depends on what has failed.
- Another local solar installer. Many will service systems they did not install, though some will not. Call two or three and ask directly. Expect a higher rate for non-warranty work, and expect them to want to inspect the whole system before touching it.
- An independent licensed electrician. For electrical faults, breaker issues or monitoring problems, this is often faster and cheaper than a solar company. For anything involving the roof mounting, you want someone experienced with arrays.
- The manufacturer’s service network. Some manufacturers keep a list of certified installers in each region and will point you to one, particularly when a warranty claim is in play.
Whichever route you take, get the work documented. A service record becomes valuable evidence if you ever sell the house or make an insurance claim.
What Service Costs Without a Warranty
| Work | Typical cost |
|---|---|
| Diagnostic or service visit | $150-$400 |
| String inverter replacement, installed | $1,500-$3,500 |
| Single microinverter replacement | $250-$600 |
| Re-flashing a leaking roof penetration | $300-$800 |
| System inspection with report | $200-$500 |
None of that is dramatically different from what you would pay with a workmanship warranty in place – the difference is who pays the invoice.
Do This First: Build a System File
Whether or not your installer is still trading, put these in one place today. If the company closes without warning, this is the file that saves you.
- The original contract and invoice, with the system size and equipment list
- Panel and inverter model numbers and serial numbers
- Warranty documents for panels, inverter and workmanship
- Permit and final inspection records, from the local building department
- The utility interconnection agreement
- Your monitoring account login, and the last twelve months of production data
- Any service or repair invoices
If the installer has already closed, request the permit records from your building department – they will show what was approved and inspected, which is often enough to support a warranty claim.
How to Reduce This Risk Before You Sign
The workmanship warranty is the only part you can protect, and the protection happens at the buying stage.
- Ask how long the company has operated under that name. A three-year-old business is not automatically bad, but you are buying a 25-year promise from it.
- Ask whether crews are in-house or subcontracted. Companies with their own crews tend to have more stable finances and better control over quality.
- Ask who holds the workmanship warranty, and for how long. Anything under ten years is thin for a 25-year asset.
- Ask whether a third-party or manufacturer-backed workmanship program is available. Some manufacturers offer extended labour coverage that survives an installer closing. This is the single most useful question on the list.
- Keep your own copy of every document. Not the installer’s portal, not a link they sent – your own copy.
These questions are part of the wider list in our guide to choosing a solar installer, and they are worth asking before you sign rather than after the fact. Checking the workmanship warranty line in a quote takes five minutes and is easy to skip. Our article on comparing solar quotes shows where it sits in the document.
FAQ
Is my solar warranty void if the installer goes out of business?
Panel and inverter warranties are not affected, because the manufacturer backs them, not the installer. A workmanship warranty usually becomes unusable, because there is no company left to honour it.
Who do I contact for repairs if my installer has closed?
Another local solar installer or a licensed electrician familiar with arrays. Some panel and inverter manufacturers also keep a regional list of certified installers and will direct you to one.
Will the manufacturer still honour the panel warranty?
Yes, provided you can show the installation date and the equipment serial numbers. The original invoice and permit records are the usual evidence, which is why keeping your own copies matters.
Can I still sell my house if the installing company is gone?
Yes. The system is part of the property and transfers as normal. What a buyer will want to know is what warranty coverage remains, so have the manufacturer documents ready.
How do I check whether my installer is still operating?
Search the company’s registration with your state licensing board, and check whether the phone number is still answered. A website that is still online is not evidence the company is trading.
Related: Solar Panel Warranties Explained – What’s Covered and for How Long
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