Solar Company Won't Honor the Warranty? What to Do

What should you do when a solar company won’t honor the warranty?

Find the warranty that covers the failure and the company that issued it, then send that company a written claim that quotes the warranty and asks for a specific fix by a specific date. Equipment defects usually belong to the manufacturer, installation defects to the installer under its workmanship warranty, and repairs on a leased or PPA system to the company that owns the panels. If the solar company is still not honoring the warranty after a written claim, federal warranty law, free complaints and a contract claim are the next tools.

If the company has closed or filed for bankruptcy instead, see who is responsible for warranties after a solar company closes.

Which warranty covers your solar problem?

The FTC tells solar shoppers that bids should state what warranties apply to the equipment, “like the panels and inverters,” and to “the installation workmanship.” California’s solar guide asks the same two questions separately: “Are there warranties for the panels and inverters?” and “Are there warranties for labor/construction?” Match the failure to the right promise before you write.

What went wrong	Promise that usually covers it	Who to write to
An inverter, optimizer, battery or panel failed on its own	The manufacturer’s product warranty	The manufacturer, and the installer if your contract says it handles claims
Panel output fell below the floor in the warranty	The panel performance warranty	The panel manufacturer
A leak at a roof attachment, loose racking or faulty wiring	The installer’s workmanship warranty	The installer
Any failure on a leased or PPA system	The contract’s maintenance terms	The system owner or its servicer
Output below a lease or PPA production guarantee	The production guarantee	The system owner

Start with the inverter: NREL’s maintenance guide calls inverter failure “one of the most frequent causes of PV system performance loss.” For leaks, see roof damage after solar installation; for low output, see panels not producing promised energy.

Some repairs fall outside every warranty. On a system you own, the FTC says maintenance is yours “unless the seller includes that in the contract.”

What does the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act cover?

The Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act is the federal law that governs written warranties on consumer products. The FTC’s business guide notes that it “does not require any business to provide a written warranty”; it sets rules for the warranties a business chooses to give.

It reaches equipment attached to a home. A consumer product includes property “intended to be attached to or installed in any real property,” and the FTC’s rule covers “separate items of equipment attached to real property,” including “electrical equipment,” but not “the wiring, plumbing, ducts, and other items which are integral component parts of the structure.” No FTC text names solar panels. In our reading, a written panel or inverter warranty fits the Act and the wiring built into your house does not; a lawyer can say how courts in your state treat it.

It does not cover services. The FTC’s rule says “warranties on services are not covered,” though its business guide adds that a warranty that “covers both the parts provided for a repair and the workmanship in making that repair” does fall under the Act. A labor-only workmanship warranty from your installer is therefore usually a contract question under state law.

Full or limited is a legal label. Under 15 U.S.C. 2303, a written warranty that meets the federal minimum standards is designated “full,” and one that does not is a “limited warranty.” A full warranty must fix the product “within a reasonable time and without charge” and allow a refund or replacement “after a reasonable number of attempts” (15 U.S.C. 2304). The Enphase and SolarEdge warranties quoted below are both titled limited, so their own terms set the coverage.

Implied warranties survive. A company that gives a written warranty may not disclaim the implied warranties state law creates, though a limited warranty may cut their length to its own term if it says so in clear, prominently displayed language (15 U.S.C. 2308). The FTC says implied warranties “might cover problems a written warranty doesn’t.”

You can sue, after giving the company a chance. A consumer “damaged by the failure” of a warrantor to honor a written or implied warranty may sue, and one who prevails may recover costs “including attorneys’ fees based on actual time expended” (15 U.S.C. 2310(d)). The company must first be “afforded a reasonable opportunity to cure” (2310(e)), one more reason to put your claim in writing.

How do you make a written warranty claim?

1. Get the warranty. The FTC’s business guide says door-to-door sellers “must offer the customer copies of the written warranties before the sale is completed.” If you never got one, ask in writing and note the date.
2. Follow the document’s own procedure. SolarEdge, for example, asks owners to report a defect “promptly after such discovery” by email, with a short description, the serial number and a copy of the receipt or warranty certificate.
3. Write the claim. Give the address, equipment and serial numbers, what failed and when, the clause that covers it, and the fix you want by a date, with photos and monitoring screenshots attached.
4. Prove delivery. The FTC suggests certified mail with a return receipt.
5. Get any denial in writing, with the reason.

Keep the sales material too. The FTC advises: “If a salesperson makes a spoken promise, like saying the company will give you free repairs, get the promise in writing.” If the pitch promised coverage the signed documents lack, the proposal, ads and texts are your evidence; our dispute documents checklist lists the rest.

When should you go to the manufacturer instead of the installer?

The FTC’s advice is: “If you have a problem with a product contact the seller. If the seller doesn’t resolve the problem, write to the manufacturer.”

Expect a fight over labor: Enphase’s current microinverter warranty “does not include any cost of labor” to uninstall and reinstall equipment, and SolarEdge’s 2026 warranty says labor costs “will be borne by the buyer” unless SolarEdge agrees otherwise in writing in advance. Expect finger-pointing too. Enphase excludes products that “have been improperly installed,” and SolarEdge excludes damage from “improper installation.” If the manufacturer blames the installation and the installer blames the equipment, get both answers in writing; together they show which promise failed.

What if your lease or PPA company won’t fix it?

On a lease or PPA, the repair duty is in your contract. California’s guide says that under both, the “Solar provider is responsible for all monitoring, maintenance, and repairs.” Treasury’s advisory tells consumers to check “Who provides maintenance and repair service, and who pays for those services,” and any “performance guaranty.” Quote those clauses in your claim.

Complaints can follow contracts to a new servicer. Connecticut’s attorney general announced in March 2026 that Spruce Power 3 agreed to pay $100,000 after complaints about “billing, customer service, warranty issues, and other concerns” that followed its purchase of contracts from NRG Energy; the state will seek court approval. Keep paying while you press the claim, and get professional advice before you change any payment.

Where can you complain about a solar company not honoring a warranty?

The FTC’s warranty page says to report a company that won’t resolve the problem to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and to your state attorney general. Add your contractor licensing board for installation problems; in California, the CPUC sends complaints about solar contractors’ “poor workmanship, deception, or fraud” to the Contractors State License Board, which warns that “The purpose of a CSLB investigation is not to obtain restitution.” If a loan paid for the system, add the lender and the CFPB. Our guide to filing a complaint against a solar company lists each channel.

When does a warranty refusal become a legal claim?

Sort the refusal first. It can be a bad outcome: the failure falls outside the warranty, and the FTC’s advice for parts a warranty doesn’t list is to “assume they aren’t covered.” It can be a contract violation: a covered failure, a timely written claim, and a refusal or a repair that never comes; for a written equipment warranty that can support a Magnuson-Moss claim, and for a workmanship warranty a breach of contract claim under state law. Or it can be misrepresentation: the pitch promised coverage the documents don’t contain, or, in the FTC’s words, a warranty “that promised service that the warrantor had no intention of providing or could not provide.”

If a loan paid for the system, read it for the FTC Holder Rule notice. It says any holder of the credit contract “IS SUBJECT TO ALL CLAIMS AND DEFENSES WHICH THE DEBTOR COULD ASSERT AGAINST THE SELLER” and that recovery “SHALL NOT EXCEED AMOUNTS PAID BY THE DEBTOR HEREUNDER.” A seller’s breach of contract can then be raised against the lender, capped at what you have paid, and the FTC said in January 2022 that the rule “does not prevent state law from providing costs or attorneys’ fees against loan holders.”

What should you do, in order?

1. Inside a cancellation window? A warranty problem soon after signing may still fall inside one, since windows vary by state and can run longer than three days (state table, deadline tool). Cancel in writing by the required method and copy the lender that day.

2. Identify your contract and every company. Your papers tell you whether this is a cash, loan, lease, PPA or PACE deal. From them, name the installer, the lender, the servicer and each warranty provider; they may be four different companies, and the warranty that matters may come from the one you never dealt with.

3. Ask in writing, and complain for free. Send the claim above to the warrantor and keep its answer. If you bought the system, the FTC’s first step is: “If you have a problem with a system you bought, try to resolve it with the company first,” followed by a report to the FTC and your attorney general. For a loan complaint, the CFPB’s complaint page first asks, “Have you tried reaching out to the company?” Lease and PPA customers can point to the joint statement in which Treasury, the CFPB and the FTC “encourage consumers that believe they have been a victim of unfair or deceptive practices to file a complaint with CFPB, FTC, or their relevant state consumer protection office.”

Disclosure: Candid Yak works with Titan Advocacy Group, a solar consumer advocacy firm, and may be paid when readers hire it.

4. If they refuse, get a case review. When the company refuses in writing and your documents show a gap between what you were promised and what you signed, a case review sorts the refusal into the right category and names the claim. A firm that offers a free case review is worth hiring when it:

• reviews the warranty, contract and denial before quoting anything, and tells you if a free route is still open;
• identifies the lawyer assigned to your claim, licensed in your state, whom you can check with the state bar;
• states its fee in writing before you pay, including what happens to the fee if the company or lender refuses;
• never tells you to stop paying your loan, lease or PPA;
• never promises an outcome and never claims ties to your installer, manufacturer or lender.

See solar cancellation companies and hiring a solar attorney.

5. Other routes. A lease or PPA buyout ends the contract on its own terms. A loan can be paid off or refinanced with a consolidation loan if the numbers work. The main guide covers every route.

Disclosure: Candid Yak works with Titan Advocacy Group, a solar consumer advocacy firm, and may be paid when readers hire it. This page’s author, Kira Fairbank, is a manager at Vacation Ownership Consultants, a timeshare exit firm.

This is general information, not legal advice. Whether a warranty refusal is a breach depends on the warranty’s exact terms, your contract and your state’s law, and federal warranty law applies differently to equipment and to labor. Put the warranty, the denial and your contract in front of an attorney licensed in your state before you send a demand, sign a release, or change any payment.