SunPower® Warranty FAQ’s
SunPower® Complete Confidence Warranty
A better warranty starts with a better product.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Q. What’s the advantage of a single warranty on the whole system all from one manufacturer?
A. A working solar system is composed of many components that work together to turn sunlight
into usable power for your home. When you buy a SunPower® solar system with components
that are designed and engineered to work together, you get the confidence of knowing that not
only will the system work better together, but also that, should anything go wrong, you have
one company, SunPower, backing your entire system – not just a component. If there is an
issue, you have just one phone call to make.
Q. Is length of coverage the most important part of a manufacturer’s warranty?
A. While length of coverage is important, it’s even more important to understand the
comprehensiveness of the coverage. If something goes wrong with your system, is there one
company to contact, or will you have to juggle amongst multiple manufacturer warranties, each
of which is responsible for only one component of your system? Can you simply pick up the
phone, or are you required to send a request for help to a P. O. Box in a distant location and
wait an extended period of time to receive help? Will a representative inspect the system at
your home, or will you be expected to ship a faulty component, at your expense? Do you have
peace of mind knowing that your system will be fixed at no extra cost to you, or will you be
billed for extra charges, such as labor or shipping? These are only some of the considerations
that SunPower took into account when creating our industry-leading Complete Confidence
Warranty.
Q. I saw that another brand offers a warranty that also provides 25 years of coverage. Is this the same as SunPower’s warranty?
A. No. Other manufacturers, many of which are new to manufacturing solar, are trying to catch
up to SunPower’s 30+ years of dedicated solar experience, and to the exceptional terms of our
Complete Confidence warranty. Many of them include hidden charges, such as shipping and
labor costs, and don’t cover all of the many parts that go into a working solar system – panels,
inverters, racking system, monitoring hardware and software. SunPower is the only company
who offers one comprehensive product, power, and labor warranty for all components,
because we engineered and designed the entire system.
Q. Why does SunPower claim to have the best power warranty in the industry and how does this benefit me?
A. Over time, all solar panels lose a small amount of production, measured by its annual
degradation rate. SunPower panels have the lowest degradation rate in the industry, validated
by 3rd party testing2 from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). This means that a
system with SunPower panels can produce more power and we back this with our 25-year
Complete Confidence Warranty.
Q. What does it mean when the product and power warranties reflect different lengths of coverage?
A. Homeowners should be suspicious of product and power warranties with separate lengths of
terms. Product warranty covers defects, and power warranty covers how much power the
system is producing. What’s the value of a longer power warranty if the product generating the
power breaks but is no longer warranted?
Q. Why should I consider SunPower, if brands like big brands I recognize and respect such as LG and Panasonic are also offering solar?
A. Solar is a technology that requires years of dedication and commitment to refine and perfect.
SunPower has been solely focused on solar for over 30 years – it’s been our vision, our mission,
and the air we breathe since we were founded in 1985. You may be familiar with other brands
because they make your dishwasher, refrigerator, or TV, but probably not because of their solar
products. Those familiar with solar products agree that SunPower builds premium solar
products and have a reputation for quality, design, and reliability.
Q. Why is shipping and labor important coverage? Isn’t it cheap to replace a panel?
A. No. Hardware is only part of the total cost of getting a home equipped with solar. Other
costs that other solar companies don’t include are product shipping, handling/packaging,
installation, and other labor costs. SunPower covers all of this, because we know that anything
short of end-to-end coverage will result in homeowners unexpectedly having to pay extra
hidden costs.
Q. If I think I have a problem, what do I do?
You can contact your SunPower dealer who can handle your claim directly with SunPower for
you. You’re also welcome to contact SunPower directly (1-800-SUNPOWER), and we will
dispatch a SunPower dealer to help you. You may be asked for a description or pictures to help
us better diagnose the issue, but rest assured that we’ll help make sure your system is up and
running as soon as possible –at no extra cost to you.
Q. What will happen if my original installer goes out of business? Who will cover my warranty? Will I have to pay them for labor?
A. If your SunPower dealer is no longer available, you can always just call SunPower directly (1-
800-SunPower), and we will send an installer to help diagnose and resolve your issue. Because
the SunPower warranty provides end-to-end coverage, there are no extra hidden costs to get
your system up and running again.
Q. Does SunPower have warranty insurance in case they go bankrupt?
A. PV Panel Warranty Insurance, like any insurance policy, is riddled with fine print, and
incorporate confusing details like high deductibles (also known as self-insured retention, SIR),
or limits to payouts. In contrast, SunPower is a financially conservative company and maintains
one of the largest reserves in the industry with one of the lowest claim rates. Your investment
ultimately rests on the underlying quality and reliability of the product itself – choose the better
product.
Q. Does the SunPower warranty cover coastal areas?
A. Yes, SunPower’s warranty covers systems that are installed in common beachside locations.
We expect and assume that your system is exposed to a reasonable amount of salty water mist
and sprays, but does not come in direct contact with large bodies of salt water (e.g., you live on
a boat, or if your home experiences a flood).
1 “Fraunhofer PV Durability Initiative for Solar Modules: Part 3”. PVTech Power, 2015.
2 NREL Degradation Rate Study 2017
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