An industry standard solar panel has a 10 year limited product warranty and a 25 year limited performance guarantee or warranty.
Can possible issues that would be covered under the limited product warranty, also be covered by the performance guarantee warranty?
For example, Solarworld warrants for 10 years, among other things, that the solar panel " will not be subject to any clouding or discoloration of the glass."
And, "1. SolarWorld guarantees that the actual output of the product will amount to at least 97 % of effective output during the first year after purchase of the product and as of the second year after purchase of the product, the effective output will decline annually by no more than 0.7 % for a period of 24 years, so that by the end of the 25th year after purchase an actual output of at least 80.2 % of effective output will be achieved."
In this example, if glass clouding occurs in the solar panel in year 11 or later, and as a result reduces power output to below the threshold warranted by the performance guarantee, is the module warranted by the performance guarantee even though the issue is on no longer covered by the limited warranty?
Comments
Hello Emmet,
Great question. As you have pointed out, there exists some overlap between the two warranty policies. In the particular case you presented of the glass clouding after the physical limited warranty expires, the performance warranty would cover the module.
But if the glass breaks or the frame warps or corrodes after year 11, the manufacturer's liability sits only with the modules's production of electricity, not with it's construction.