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Solar Energy Services
1514 Jabez Run
Millersville, Maryland 21108

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The Fairytale of the 25 year Solar Workmanship Warranty

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Commercial Solar Service,Solar ServiceIf you’re like most solar shoppers, you prefer two or three bids on a substantial home improvement project; enabling you to sanity-check pricing, design options and find the overall best contractor-fit.  Included in these proposal comparisons is the Warranty. Most solar systems come with 3 warranties:

  1. Solar module manufacturer’s warranty; usually 25 – 30 years,
  2. Inverter(s) manufacturer’s warranty; usually 10 – 25 years (inverters convert DC energy to home-accessible AC energy)
  3. Workmanship warranty – entirely separate from 1 & 2 above. This insures the design and installation, insofar as contractor/labor portion of your install is covered for a given period of time, as determined by the installation company.

Industry Standard

As the popularity of solar has increased – so has the number of competing contractors and their accompanying solar proposals. All of these proposals should include a workmanship warranty. What will differ is the duration of the workmanship warranty. The standard duration for a residential solar system was always 5 – 10 years until a couple of years ago when some contractors started offering an unprecedented 25-year workmanship warranty. This is a good thing, right? On paperâ€Ķsure.

Compete only to Beat

With over 35 years in the solar industry, it’s fair to say we’ve seen a lot of solar installers come and go; especially in the last five years. The go-ing usually brings with it a slew of phone calls to our service department as solar system owners panic about no longer having their contractor around to honor the workmanship warranty; particularly those looking to resolve existing issues. Ironically, these are sometimes homeowners that chose the contractor over us due to a workmanship warranty of shorter duration. We have stuck with the industry-standard of 10 years, whereas some other installers have increased to 25 years to match the manufacturer warranties.

So, the big question – and the reason for this current article is – Why? If some of our competitors are offering a 25-year warranty – why don’t we? Seems only natural, given the fact that we’ve been in business for longer than 99% of them – greatly increasing the probability that we’ll be around to honor an extended workmanship warranty.

The Big Answer (in two parts)

  1. We’re keeping it Real: Understandably, a 25-year workmanship warranty is attractive to a homeowner because – by design – it matches the 25-year solar panel warranty. This does not change the fact that a workmanship warranty exists entirely independent of the installed equipment warranty(s). A contractor’s history, fiscal health and future plans have little or nothing to do with the equipment warranties. Given this, we avoid inflating the language in our contracts to provide misleading comfort to a home or business owner, with the sole purpose of beating out the competition at contract-signing time.
  1. We’re still keeping it Real: Of all the orphaned solar projects we’ve come across – we cannot cite a single known instance where a homeowner has taken legal action over an abandoned workmanship warranty item; simply not worth the court fees or the hassle. Most exert their energy on finding a contractor who will fix the problem as soon as possible and get their solar system restored to full working condition. Hence, the true value of the workmanship warranty is contractor integrity and the likelihood of whether they both intend to and will remain in business to honor their contractual agreement. For most solar contractors, the standard ten-year commitment reflects a realistic forecast of longevity and commitment; avoiding the temptation to head off into fairytale land in order to beat-out the competition.
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Solar Saves in Anne Arundel County

Pictured: Matt, Jessica and family in front of their newly installed solar hot water and solar electric systems.

The cost of the residential solar system has come down dramatically in the past five years. With 4 separate grants and incentives, Anne Arundel County residents are catching on.

LET THE SUNSHINE IN – Residential solar energy systems are being installed every day in Anne Arundel County where local business owners Roger Perry and Rick Peters are working hard to keep up with rising demand. Their rapidly growing 18 person firm, Solar Energy Services, Inc. (SES) installs and services solar electric, solar water heating, and solar pool heating systems in Maryland and DC, with the majority of their residential customers located within AA County. When asked why he thinks solar has taken off even in these tough times, SES president Rick Peters said there are many drivers, but economics lead the way. “Rising utility bills, decreasing cost of solar panels and generous financial incentives all combine to give homeowners the opportunity to pay off 25yrs worth of BGE energy in about 6 years, not to mention the environmental and societal benefits.”

One House – two solar systems:

Most solar shoppers are unaware that there are two types of solar energy for the home. Whole house solar electric, commonly referred to as PV (Photovoltaic), is what most people think of as solar energy. However, a solar water heater can offset 75% of your annual hot water energy. Roger Perry quickly points out that if you have a large sunny roof, there is plenty of room for both systems. He and Peters both have solar water heating and solar electric on their homes.

The clock is ticking…

Each of the 4 different substantial incentives for a residential property owner in Anne Arundel County currently has a limited life-span, with the idea that solar can be competitive without them in the future. Peters notes that the current average payback on a solar electric system is about 6 years, for a system that lasts 25 – 30 years. With solar hot water, a 4 year average payback with a similar system lifespan. The payback is even faster if you have a large family (lots of hot water use) or if you need to replace your water heater anyway. Rick Peters leaves us with some food for thought, “You can invest your money in a lot of different places these days, but most are very uncertain, or producing a very low return. On an annual basis, the return on solar energy is quite predictable, and the economic return is hard to beat with any financial investment strategy.”

TYPICAL 5kW SOLAR ELECTRIC (PV) SYSTEM
Estimated System Cost $27,500
Federal Tax Credit $8,250
MD State Grant $2,500
AA County Property Tax Credit @ 75% $1,875
SREC Payments $10,000
Total Incentives $22,625
Net Cost to Homeowner $4,875
Payback in Years 6.09 yrs
25 yr Annual Energy Savings +800 per year
25 yr Lifetime Return on Investment >250%

 

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