How to Make a Solar Warranty Claim in New Zealand

If part of your solar system fails, you start by working out which of three separate warranties actually covers the fault, then you put the claim in writing to the company that issued it. In most cases that is your installer first, not the manufacturer. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act, the installer who sold you the system carries legal responsibility for it being fit for purpose, regardless of what the panel or inverter brand says. A typical claim, panel or inverter swap included, costs you nothing if it is inside warranty and the paperwork is in order. The whole thing usually takes two to eight weeks depending on whether parts come from a local distributor or get shipped in.

Most homeowners never read their warranty documents until something goes wrong, and that is exactly when the wording suddenly matters a great deal. The gap between a smooth, no-cost repair and a frustrating dead end almost always comes down to two things: knowing which warranty applies, and having kept the right records. Let's sort both of those out properly.

The three warranties on your solar system (and why people muddle them up)

Nearly every solar setup in Aotearoa comes with three distinct warranties, issued by different parties, covering different things, lasting different lengths of time. Lumping them together is the single most common reason a claim stalls.

1. Product (or materials) warranty

This covers the physical hardware failing: a panel developing a fault, an inverter dying, a battery losing capacity faster than promised.

• Panels: typically 10 to 15 years on the product itself from mainstream brands, with some premium manufacturers offering 25 years on the product.
• String inverters: usually 5 to 10 years as standard, often extendable to 10 or 12 if you register the product online within a set window (commonly 90 days). Miss that registration and you can quietly lose half your cover.
• Microinverters and optimisers: often 15 to 25 years.
• Batteries: generally 10 years, expressed as a retained capacity figure (for example, "70% of original capacity at year 10") rather than a simple pass or fail.

The product warranty is issued by the manufacturer, but here is the part installers don't always spell out: you usually claim it through your installer, who is the distributor's customer. You are rarely expected to deal with a factory overseas yourself.

2. Performance warranty

This one applies almost entirely to panels, and it is widely misunderstood. A performance warranty does not promise your panels keep producing the same amount forever. It promises they will degrade no faster than a stated rate. A common guarantee is something like 98% output in year one, then no worse than roughly 0.5% loss per year, landing at around 85% to 88% of original output at year 25.

The trap: a panel slowly producing less is normal and expected. It is only a valid performance claim if the drop is steeper than the warranted curve. That is genuinely hard to prove on a single panel without isolated monitoring, which is why most real-world hardware claims end up being product claims (an outright fault) rather than performance claims.

3. Workmanship (or installation) warranty

This is the one your installer issues directly, and it is the one that matters most for the first decade. It covers their labour and the install itself: roof penetrations and flashing, cabling, mounting rails, isolators, the way it was all put together. In New Zealand this commonly runs 5 to 10 years, and the best installers offer 10.

A leaking roof bracket, a corroded connector, an isolator that lets water in (a known cause of faults and even fires in NZ), or DC cabling that wasn't secured properly: these are workmanship issues, not manufacturer faults. If your installer has folded, this is the warranty you can lose, which is a big reason choosing an established installer matters more than chasing the lowest price. We get into how to vet them when you line up quotes.

The insight installers rarely volunteer: the Consumer Guarantees Act outranks the warranty

Here is the bit that genuinely changes your footing, and you will struggle to find it stated plainly on most solar sites. In New Zealand, a written warranty is an additional promise on top of your legal rights. It does not replace them.

Under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993, goods sold to you must be of acceptable quality and last a reasonable time given their price and nature. A $10,000 solar system that fails after seven years is not lasting a "reasonable time," even if a particular component's written warranty was only five. The Commerce Commission and Consumer NZ both make this point clearly: the CGA gives you cover that can run beyond the manufacturer's stated warranty period.

Critically, your legal claim under the CGA is against the trader who sold you the system, your installer, not the overseas factory. They cannot lawfully fob you off with "that's a manufacturer issue, contact China." If the system isn't performing as it reasonably should, the installer is on the hook to put it right. When a company tries to bounce you offshore, that sentence is your answer.

The flip side, to be fair about it: the CGA covers faults and unreasonable failure. It does not cover normal wear, damage you caused, or a system that is simply performing as designed on a cloudy West Coast week. Knowing the difference saves everyone time.

Before you claim: confirm it's actually a fault

A surprising share of "my system has failed" calls turn out to be something else entirely: a tripped breaker, a retailer billing change, a shading issue from a tree that's grown, or simply a dim winter. Ruling those out first means you go into a claim with a clear, evidenced fault rather than a hunch.

Start with your monitoring. If you're not sure how to read it, we walk through the apps and what the numbers mean in our piece on monitoring your solar production. If output has genuinely dropped, work through the likely causes in our troubleshooting walkthrough before you pick up the phone. And if the panels just look filthy after a dry Canterbury summer, it might be a cleaning question, not a warranty one.

Quick gut check on what is and isn't a likely valid claim:

• Likely a claim: inverter showing a hard fault code and producing zero; a single panel reading dead while neighbours produce normally; a visible crack or "snail trail" browning; water ingress at an isolator; a battery sitting well below its warranted capacity; a roof leak at a mounting point.
• Probably not a claim: lower output in winter; reduced production from a newly shading tree; a gradual, on-curve efficiency decline; high power bills caused by a tariff change or more household usage.

The step-by-step claim process

Step 1: Gather your documents

This is where claims live or die. Before you contact anyone, pull together:

• Your original invoice or contract (proves the purchase date, price, and who sold it).
• The warranty certificates for the panels, inverter and battery (often in your handover pack or emailed PDF).
• Any product registration confirmations, especially for the inverter.
• The Electrical Certificate of Compliance (CoC) and Electrical Safety Certificate from your install. By law your installer must provide these, and they prove the work was signed off.
• Your monitoring data or screenshots showing the fault: a dead panel, a zero-output inverter, a capacity reading.
• Photos of anything visible (cracks, water, scorching, error displays).

If you can't find your handover pack, your installer is legally required to keep the CoC records, and the inverter manufacturer can often confirm registration from the serial number.

Step 2: Contact your installer first, in writing

Phone is fine to open the conversation, but follow it up in writing (email) so there is a dated record. State the fault plainly, attach your evidence, name the relevant warranty, and ask for a remedy and a timeframe. Something like: "Our inverter, serial XXX, installed by you on [date], is showing fault code [X] and producing zero. Under both the manufacturer warranty and the Consumer Guarantees Act, we'd like this assessed and repaired or replaced. Please confirm next steps and timing."

Putting "Consumer Guarantees Act" in that first email politely signals you know your rights without picking a fight.

Step 3: The diagnosis and assessment

The installer will usually arrange a site visit or remote diagnostics. For inverters, many faults can be read remotely via the manufacturer's portal. For panels, they may use a clamp meter or check individual string or optimiser data. A reputable installer absorbs the diagnostic cost on an in-warranty fault; be wary of anyone charging a hefty "call-out" to even look at a system they installed and warranted.

Step 4: The manufacturer process (behind the scenes)

For a confirmed hardware fault, the installer lodges a claim with the NZ distributor or manufacturer on your behalf. Most major brands sold here have local distribution, so a replacement inverter or panel typically arrives within days to a few weeks. Larger brands run an advance replacement system where the new unit ships before the faulty one is returned, which keeps your downtime short.

Step 5: Repair, replacement and getting back online

Once the part arrives, the installer fits it and confirms the system is producing again. For an inverter swap they may need to re-commission and reconnect to your monitoring. Always ask for written confirmation of what was replaced and the date, because the replacement part may carry its own warranty terms.

Step 6: If you hit a wall

If your installer ignores you, has gone out of business, or refuses a legitimate claim, you still have options:

• Go direct to the manufacturer or NZ distributor using your serial numbers and proof of purchase. The product warranty stands even if the installer is gone.
• Contact Consumer NZ or use the Commerce Commission's guidance on your CGA rights.
• Use the Disputes Tribunal for claims up to $30,000. It's low-cost, you don't need a lawyer, and it's well suited to a solar dispute with a clear paper trail.
• If the company is a SEANZ member (Sustainable Energy Association of New Zealand), their membership comes with conduct expectations you can raise.

A worked example: an inverter failure in year six

Picture a 6.6kW system on a brick-and-tile place in Papakura, installed in 2019 for around $13,000. The string inverter came with a 5-year standard product warranty, extended to 10 because the owner registered it online at install. In year six the inverter throws a hard fault and production drops to zero.

Because it was registered, the product warranty is live, so the new inverter is supplied at no cost. The installer's 10-year workmanship warranty covers the labour to swap it. The owner's total out-of-pocket cost: $0, with the system back online in about three weeks once the replacement landed from the distributor.

Now run the same scenario where the owner didn't register the inverter and the standard warranty was only five years. The manufacturer's written cover has lapsed. But the system is six years old and a $13,000 purchase: under the Consumer Guarantees Act, an inverter failing at six years arguably hasn't lasted a "reasonable time." The owner can press the installer on CGA grounds, and a fair installer (or the Disputes Tribunal) will often land on a repair or a substantial contribution. That single piece of knowledge can be worth a couple of thousand dollars.

Where warranty claims genuinely fall over

Being straight with you, here are the situations where homeowners get stung:

• The installer has folded. Workmanship cover dies with the company. Your product warranties survive, but you'll be coordinating repairs yourself. This is the strongest argument for choosing an established, well-reviewed installer over the cheapest quote.
• Unregistered products. Skipping the inverter registration window can halve your cover. Do it on day one.
• Lost paperwork. No invoice, no CoC, no serial numbers, much harder claim. Scan everything into a cloud folder the week you're installed.
• Unauthorised work. If a different electrician or a handy mate has touched the system, manufacturers and installers can void cover. Keep all work on the system in the original installer's hands while it's under warranty.
• Exclusions for "acts of nature." Storm, hail, lightning and flood damage usually sit with your house insurance, not the solar warranty. Make sure your insurer knows the system is on the roof and its value is reflected in your cover.

For the wider picture on keeping a system healthy and what aftercare actually involves over its life, we pull it all together in our guide to owning and looking after your system.

What to do today, even if nothing's broken

The best warranty claim is the one you've already prepared for. Ten minutes now saves a world of grief later:

• Find your handover pack and scan the invoice, warranty certificates and CoC into a labelled cloud folder.
• Confirm your inverter is registered with the manufacturer (a quick email to your installer will tell you).
• Write down the warranty end dates for panels, inverter and battery in your calendar.
• Check your monitoring app is working and that you can read it, so you'd spot a fault early.
• Note your installer's current contact details and check they're still trading.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who do I contact first for a solar warranty claim in NZ?

Start with the company that installed your system, in writing. Under the Consumer Guarantees Act the trader who sold you the system is legally responsible for it, so they should coordinate any manufacturer claim on your behalf. Only go direct to the manufacturer or distributor if the installer is unresponsive or has ceased trading.

What's the difference between a product and a performance warranty?

A product warranty covers the hardware physically failing, such as a dead inverter or a faulty panel. A performance warranty promises panels won't degrade faster than a stated rate, often landing around 85% to 88% of original output by year 25. A slow, on-curve decline is normal and isn't a valid claim; a sudden drop or outright fault is.

Does my warranty still apply if the installer has gone out of business?

Your manufacturer product warranties on the panels, inverter and battery survive, and you can claim them direct using your serial numbers and proof of purchase. The workmanship warranty, which covers the labour and the install itself, generally does not survive the company closing. That's why an established installer is worth paying a little more for.

Can I claim after the manufacturer's warranty period has ended?

Possibly, yes. The Consumer Guarantees Act says goods must last a reasonable time given their price and nature, and that can extend beyond a written warranty. A $13,000 system failing at six or seven years arguably hasn't lasted reasonably, giving you grounds to press the installer even if the manufacturer's stated period has lapsed.

What documents do I need to make a claim?

Your original invoice or contract, the warranty certificates, any product registration confirmation, the Electrical Certificate of Compliance from the install, and evidence of the fault such as monitoring screenshots and photos. Serial numbers for the panels and inverter are particularly important if you ever need to go direct to the manufacturer.

Will a warranty cover storm or lightning damage?

Usually not. Damage from storms, hail, lightning or flooding is typically a matter for your house insurance rather than the solar warranty, which covers defects and faults. Make sure your insurer knows the system is installed and that its value is reflected in your cover.

How long does a solar warranty claim take in NZ?

Most claims resolve in two to eight weeks. Inverter faults are often diagnosed remotely within days, and major brands hold stock with local distributors, so a replacement can arrive quickly. Delays usually come from parts being shipped in or from a slow or unresponsive installer.

What if my installer refuses a legitimate claim?

Put your position in writing citing the Consumer Guarantees Act, then escalate. You can seek guidance from Consumer NZ or the Commerce Commission, raise it with SEANZ if the company is a member, or take it to the Disputes Tribunal for claims up to $30,000, where a clear paper trail does most of the work.

The bottom line

A solar warranty claim in New Zealand is rarely the nightmare people fear, provided you know which of the three warranties applies and you've kept your paperwork. Your installer is your first port of call and your legal backstop, the Consumer Guarantees Act sits behind the written warranty and can outlast it, and the Disputes Tribunal is there if a company ever tries it on.

If you're reading this because your numbers look off rather than because something's clearly broken, do yourself a favour and rule out the simple stuff first with our output troubleshooting walkthrough. And if you're still in the research stage and want to choose an installer who'll actually be around to honour that workmanship warranty in ten years, our cost and payback calculator is a sensible next stop.

Where to go from here

The single most valuable thing you can do today takes ten minutes: dig out your handover pack, scan the invoice, warranty certificates and Certificate of Compliance into a cloud folder, and confirm your inverter registration is logged. That small bit of mahi now is the difference between a $0 repair and a drawn-out argument later.

If something is genuinely faulty, open the conversation with your installer in writing today, name the relevant warranty and the Consumer Guarantees Act, and attach your evidence. If they go quiet or try to bounce you offshore, you've now got the escalation path: the manufacturer's distributor, Consumer NZ, the Commerce Commission, and the Disputes Tribunal. You're not stuck, and you're not on your own.