{"id":17451,"date":"2017-12-18T12:30:17","date_gmt":"2017-12-18T02:00:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?p=17451"},"modified":"2017-12-18T13:54:21","modified_gmt":"2017-12-18T03:24:21","slug":"solar-panel-warranty-paradox","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/","title":{"rendered":"The Solar Panel Warranty Paradox"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_17680\" style=\"width: 660px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-17680\" class=\"size-full wp-image-17680\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg\" alt=\"solar panel warranty paradox\" width=\"650\" height=\"480\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-17680\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Presenting &#8220;Ronald&#8217;s Solar Panel Warranty Paradox\u2122 &#8220;. Or what happens when you spend too much time thinking about solar panels and not enough time playing Dungeons &amp; Dragons.<\/p><\/div>\n<p><strong>Why Solar Panel Warranties Are Less Important Than You May Think<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve written one or two blog articles over the years and if you&#8217;ve happen to have seen them, you may have noticed I have a thing about solar panel warranties.\u00a0 Specifically, I like &#8217;em long.\u00a0 The longer the better.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a little peccadillo of mine.\u00a0 Because of my predilection for impressive warranties you could, quite understandably, reach the erroneous conclusion that I think a good solar panel warranty is a valuable thing for a household to have.\u00a0 But this is not the case. I think for all practical purposes most solar panel warranties will be almost worthless.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>This is because what you really want is not a long lasting warranty, but panels that last so long they will never require a warranty claim.\u00a0 So if you install panels that have very little chance of failing over 25 years then the expected value of their warranty will be very little.\u00a0 However, the only way you are likely to get panels that have an almost worthless warranty is to buy ones that have a massive warranty. \u00a0It&#8217;s a bit of a paradox.<\/p>\n<p>But even if you aren&#8217;t in the wonderful position of being confident your panels are so reliable you&#8217;ll never need to make a warranty claim, there are a number of other factors that work to reduce the value of solar panel warranties to households:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>Crap Solar:<\/strong>\u00a0 If you buy the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/cheapsystems.html\">cheapest solar panels available<\/a> there is an excellent chance neither the installer or importer will be around to honor their warranties in the future.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Quality companies can go bust:<\/strong>\u00a0 Even companies that appear rock solid now can go bankrupt before their warranties expire, thanks to their long length.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Bad Memories:<\/strong>\u00a0 Warranties last so long people can forget they have them.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Inadequate Documentation:<\/strong>\u00a0 People will often neglect to get warranty information when they move into a home with existing solar.<\/li>\n<li><strong>Panel Price Falls:<\/strong>\u00a0 Solar panels will continue to fall in price, reducing the value of warranties.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>I&#8217;ll go into each of these points in a little more detail below, but first there is something I want to get off my chest&#8230;<\/p>\n<h2>Keep Your Dirty Feet Out Of My Throat!<\/h2>\n<p>Before someone jumps down my throat, which is something I particularly dislike as it can interfere with my shoving chocolate down it, I will mention that when I described the situation with warranties as a bit of a paradox I didn&#8217;t mean a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=BFy4zQlWECc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">logical paradox<\/a>.\u00a0 I was merely using the term in the relaxed way they did in the 19th century when they were happy to consider one birthday in 1,461 as paradoxical:<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Pirates of Penzance - Paradox (Subtitles)\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/XXhJKzI1u48?start=91&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>How Long Are Solar Panel Warranties?<\/h2>\n<p>Solar panels come with two different warranties from their manufacturer:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>A <strong>product warranty<\/strong> that covers defects in design, material, workpersonship, and manufacture.<\/li>\n<li>A <strong>performance warranty<\/strong> that guarantees a minimum level of performance over time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>The most common product warranty is 10 years but can be 25 years or <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solarwatt-solar-panels-30-year-product-warranty-is-worlds-best\/\">even 30<\/a>.\u00a0 Generally, the more confident a manufacturer is that their panel is reliable, the longer its product warranty will be.<\/p>\n<p>Performance warranties are almost all 25 years.\u00a0 In other countries there may be a significant legal difference between product warranties and performance warranties, but to me it seems clear that under <a href=\"http:\/\/consumerlaw.gov.au\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Australian Consumer Law<\/a> any panel that <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/warranty-and-law\/\">fails within its 25 year performance warranty is entitled to either a repair, a replacement, or a refund<\/a>.\u00a0 In addition, the law allows Australians to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accc.gov.au\/business\/treating-customers-fairly\/consumers-rights-obligations#compensation-for-damages-amp-loss\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">claim for losses<\/a> such as the cost of labour to replace a defective panel.\u00a0 However, if the responsible party doesn&#8217;t want to pay for the full cost of replacement it may be necessary to fight them and take them to small claims court or a consumer tribunal.<\/p>\n<p>If a manufacturer has an office in Australia they are responsible for their warranties. If they don&#8217;t the importer is responsible. \u00a0But the solar company that took your money has ultimate responsibility and cannot refuse to provide a solution if the manufacturer or importer is unable or unwilling to honor their warranties.<\/p>\n<p>In addition to warranties provided by the manufacturer, solar panels also come with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.accc.gov.au\/consumers\/consumer-rights-guarantees\/consumer-guarantees\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">consumer guarantees<\/a> which potentially cover faulty panels regardless of what a panel&#8217;s written warranties may say.<\/p>\n<h2>Reliable Panels Are Unlikely To Require Their Warranty<\/h2>\n<p>If you install reliable panels it&#8217;s very unlikely you&#8217;ll ever need to make a warranty claim.\u00a0 Seven months ago a representative of LG Solar told me that out of the 400,000 or so panels they had installed in Australia at that time, they had only had to replace three.\u00a0 And he strongly implied they were pity replacements for panels that had been damaged through mishandling.<\/p>\n<p>It is perfectly reasonable to be skeptical about what paid representatives say about their company&#8217;s products, but I am willing to accept what I was told as a working hypothesis.\u00a0 Now most of those panels would be reasonably new, so if we assume the chance of failure during their 25 year performance warranty is 1 in 40,000 then if you have 20 of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lgenergy.com.au\/products\/solar-panels\/lg-neon-2\/lg315n1c\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">them<\/a> in a 6.3 kilowatt system on your roof, the chance of 1 or more failing is about one in 10,000.\u00a0 If the failure rate is actually 100 times higher it still only gives a 1% chance a warranty claim will be required.<\/p>\n<p>So if you install high quality panels that are extremely reliable, your panel warranty will be nearly worthless because the chance of you needing to use it should be extremely small.<\/p>\n<p>Of course, the only way we can be certain how long panels will last in reality is to wait and see.\u00a0 But I am very confident that if you are willing to pay extra for the good stuff, you will very unlikely to have a problem.\u00a0 If you want to know which panels are premium, this graphic from our <a href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/solar101.html\">Solar 101 Guide<\/a> approximately ranks them from lower cost to top end:<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-17648\" src=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/panel-chart-october-copy.png\" alt=\"Panel Guide\" width=\"696\" height=\"677\" \/><\/p>\n<p>While having solar panels that are so reliable their warranty is effectively almost worthless is a great position to be in, there are also other considerations that can lower the value of panel warranties.<\/p>\n<h2>Low Quality Solar Panel Warranties May Be Worthless<\/h2>\n<p>If you buy the cheapest solar panels available from a manufacturer with no reputation\u00a0 &#8212; or worse, are conned into paying a high price for them &#8212; there&#8217;s an excellent chance the people who sold them to you won&#8217;t be around when you need to make a warranty claim.\u00a0 This is because people who plan to be in the business long term don&#8217;t sell or install shoddy panels.<\/p>\n<p>So low quality panels will be the ones most likely to fail within warranty.\u00a0 This should increase the value of their warranty, but these are also the panels whose warranty is most likely to turn out to be worthless.\u00a0 A situation that is most illogical.<\/p>\n<div class=\"youtube-wrapper\"><iframe title=\"Spock logic\" width=\"500\" height=\"375\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0aRY03RtwHQ?start=16&#038;feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<h2>Even Quality Companies Can Fail<\/h2>\n<p>Even if you choose a panel from a manufacturer that is financially sound with a good reputation for customer service and have it installed by someone who has been doing the right thing by her customers for years, it&#8217;s not possible to know what will happen over the quarter of a century most performance warranties will last for.\u00a0 Excellent installers can go out of business through no fault of their own and while solar panel manufacturers no longer churn and burn at the rate they did 5 years ago, it&#8217;s still impossible to know who will still be around in 10 years time, let alone 20.\u00a0 So even if you chose a sound installer and manufacturer you can&#8217;t be certain your warranty won&#8217;t end up completely worthless anyway.<\/p>\n<h2>People Will Forget They Have Warranties<\/h2>\n<p>Solar panel warranties last so long people will forget they have them.\u00a0 And I&#8217;m not just talking about elderly wombats who get <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/The_Muddle-Headed_Wombat\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">muddle headed<\/a> as they age, almost anyone can forget they have a solar warranty after a couple of decades.\u00a0 This kind of stuff is hard to keep track of.\u00a0 Personally, I can&#8217;t even remember how old I am and I&#8217;m not even old enough to be senile yet &#8212; I hope.<\/p>\n<p>People forget they have long term warranties all the time.\u00a0 For example, roofs can have long warranties similar to those of solar panels and it&#8217;s not unusual for ethical roofers to tell potential customers they have an existing warranty that will cover the work they want done.\u00a0 And unethical roofers don&#8217;t tell potential customers these things, so if you need work done on your roof, be sure to check yo&#8217;self before you wreck yo&#8217;self&#8217;s bank balance.<\/p>\n<h2>Changing Address Can Change Everything<\/h2>\n<p>When you sell your solar system along with your home, the solar panel warranty for your old system will of course become worthless to you.\u00a0 While rooftop solar is an improvement that adds to the value of a home, once it is sold the warranties are no good to you.\u00a0 They can be use to the new owner, but a lot of people are not going to receive that information when a property changes hands or they will get it, but forget they have it.<\/p>\n<p>Australians move around a lot and about 40% of us changed address in the last five years.\u00a0 This includes people who rent, so the figure should be lower for those who own their own homes and have solar.\u00a0 But looking at the example of my own parents when they were living in Toowoomba, after buying a house they would only live in it for an average of 11 years before buying another one and moving out.\u00a0\u00a0 Eventually they realized they could buy a house that wasn&#8217;t in Toowoomba and haven&#8217;t looked back.\u00a0 (My Aunt Lotte did look back and she&#8217;s now a pillar of salt next to the Warrego Highway.\u00a0 Unless of course it&#8217;s rained since then.)<\/p>\n<h2>The Cost Of Solar Will Continue To Fall<\/h2>\n<p>The cost of solar panels has fallen dramatically.\u00a0 In 2000 they cost 10 times per watt more than they do now.\u00a0 That&#8217;s a 10% decline year on year after taking inflation into account.\u00a0 While the rate of decline may slow, it&#8217;s not likely to stop anytime soon.\u00a0 If they continue to fall in price at the same rate then a panel that costs $150 now will cost around $30 in 15 years time in today&#8217;s money.\u00a0 While solar panel prices may not fall that far, they will get cheaper and as they do the value of their warranties will decline.<\/p>\n<p>Very low cost panels mean the most of the cost of warranty claim will be the labour required to replace the panel.\u00a0 This means manufacturers or importers are likely to be very quick to offer a replacement panel or a refund equal to their current market price, but less eager to pay for the cost of installation.\u00a0 But according to Australian Consumer Law you can claim compensation for consequential losses even if it is not included in a product&#8217;s written warranty.<\/p>\n<h2>Panel Reliability Trumps Manufacturer Financial Stability<\/h2>\n<p>Some people are overly concerned about the financial stability of the manufacturer they are considering buying panels from when what they really should be concerned about is getting the most reliable panels they can within their budget.\u00a0 If the company that makes those panels also happens to be financially stable it&#8217;s a nice little bonus, but its actually not that important because, in my opinion at least, panel warranties are simply not as valuable as many people think they are.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Why Solar Panel Warranties Are Less Important Than You May Think I&#8217;ve written one or two blog articles over the years and if you&#8217;ve happen to have seen them, you may have noticed I have a thing about solar panel warranties.\u00a0 Specifically, I like &#8217;em long.\u00a0 The longer the better.\u00a0 It&#8217;s a little peccadillo of [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":17680,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[83],"class_list":["post-17451","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-solar-panels-2","tag-warranties-solar-panels-2","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.2) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why your solar panel warranty might not matter a toss...<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Stressing out comparing solar panel warranties? Don&#039;t. What you really need is a panel that outlasts its warranty. It&#039;s the solar panel warranty paradox.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Solar Panel Warranty Paradox\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Stressing out comparing solar panel warranties? Don&#039;t. What you really need is a panel that outlasts its warranty. It&#039;s the solar panel warranty paradox.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"SolarQuotes Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2017-12-18T02:00:17+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2017-12-18T03:24:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"480\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ronald Brakels\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@BrakelsRonald\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@solar_quotes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Ronald Brakels\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d0ce1779b3f5cb67cb4f146732af2fc7\"},\"headline\":\"The Solar Panel Warranty Paradox\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-18T02:00:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-18T03:24:21+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\"},\"wordCount\":1977,\"commentCount\":13,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Warranties\"],\"articleSection\":[\"Solar Panels\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\",\"name\":\"Why your solar panel warranty might not matter a toss...\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2017-12-18T02:00:17+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2017-12-18T03:24:21+00:00\",\"description\":\"Stressing out comparing solar panel warranties? Don't. What you really need is a panel that outlasts its warranty. It's the solar panel warranty paradox.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":480,\"caption\":\"Presenting \\\"Ronald's Solar Panel Paradox\\\". Or what happens when you spend too much time thinking about solar panels and not enough time playing Dungeons & Dragons.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Solar Panels\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"The Solar Panel Warranty Paradox\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes Blog\",\"description\":\"An independent reckoning of the Aussie solar scene\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#organization\",\"name\":\"SolarQuotes\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/05\/solarquotes-logo.png\",\"width\":592,\"height\":600,\"caption\":\"SolarQuotes\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SolarQuotes\/\",\"https:\/\/x.com\/solar_quotes\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/solarquotes\/\",\"https:\/\/au.linkedin.com\/company\/solarquotes\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/SolarQuotesAustralia\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/d0ce1779b3f5cb67cb4f146732af2fc7\",\"name\":\"Ronald Brakels\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-AU\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a252c73a3af84c860d5f55cb59b33133bd5403bb5c1c065d0e8ef95252f3237?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a252c73a3af84c860d5f55cb59b33133bd5403bb5c1c065d0e8ef95252f3237?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0a252c73a3af84c860d5f55cb59b33133bd5403bb5c1c065d0e8ef95252f3237?s=96&d=monsterid&r=r\",\"caption\":\"Ronald Brakels\"},\"description\":\"Joining SolarQuotes in 2015, Ronald has a knack for reading those tediously long documents put out by solar manufacturers and translating their contents into something consumers might find interesting. Master of heavily researched deep-dive blog posts, his relentless consumer advocacy has ruffled more than a few manufacturer's feathers over the years. Read Ronald's full bio.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/x.com\/BrakelsRonald\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/author\/ronald\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Why your solar panel warranty might not matter a toss...","description":"Stressing out comparing solar panel warranties? Don't. What you really need is a panel that outlasts its warranty. 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Don't. What you really need is a panel that outlasts its warranty. It's the solar panel warranty paradox.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-AU","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-AU","@id":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/solar-panel-warranty-paradox\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/12\/Ronald_paradox.jpg","width":650,"height":480,"caption":"Presenting \"Ronald's Solar Panel Paradox\". 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That means they're not cheap, but they are high quality.\u00a0 The company was Norwegian, but its headquarters are now in Singapore, along with its sole factory.\u00a0 This article will be a deep dive into REC solar panel warranties.\u00a0 I've already put on a wetsuit and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"A deep dive into the warranty for REC solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/deep-dive-rec-warranty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/deep-dive-rec-warranty.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/deep-dive-rec-warranty.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/deep-dive-rec-warranty.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/02\/deep-dive-rec-warranty.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22456,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/performance-warranties-still-crap\/","url_meta":{"origin":17451,"position":1},"title":"Solar Panel Performance Warranties Are Still Crap But Getting Better","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"July 30, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"I've already written about how incredibly awful solar panel performance warranties are, but I'm writing about them again because they are so bad I could write for days on the topic and still have a big sack full of snide remarks left over. 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Update 12:09 pm:\u00a0\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"hyundai ad for 25 year product warranty","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hyundai-solar-25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hyundai-solar-25.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hyundai-solar-25.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hyundai-solar-25.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/08\/hyundai-solar-25.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":70998,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/trina-solar-panel-warranty\/","url_meta":{"origin":17451,"position":3},"title":"Trina Solar Panel Warranties: Deep Dive","author":"Ronald Brakels","date":"February 23, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Trina Solar:\u00a0 A Company That Acts Better Than Its Warranties Require Trina Solar is a giant Chinese company and, in 2022 was the world's second-largest producer of solar panels.\u00a0 Their products are among the most common electricity-producing rectangles on Australian roofs. 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But there's another reason to avoid shade\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Solar Panels&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Solar Panels","link":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/category\/solar-panels-2\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"heavily shaded solar panels","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-panels-in-shade.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-panels-in-shade.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-panels-in-shade.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-panels-in-shade.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/07\/solar-panels-in-shade.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":27089,"url":"https:\/\/www.solarquotes.com.au\/blog\/rec-solar-panel-warranty-mb0897\/","url_meta":{"origin":17451,"position":5},"title":"REC Boosts Solar Panel Product Warranty","author":"Michael Bloch","date":"January 14, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"REC Group announced last week it was providing a significant boost to its TwinPeak and N-Peak solar panel product warranties. 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