Your solar installer has closed: what to do now

If your solar installer has closed, your system keeps running, and the warranties from the makers of your panels, inverter and battery usually still stand. What you lose is the installer's own workmanship warranty and the person you would have rung. Six steps now will save you trouble later, and none of them costs anything.

First, check whether they have really closed

A phone that rings out does not always mean a business has gone. Check these before you act:

• our closed solar companies list, which brings the public records for Australian installers together in one place
• ABN Lookup, which shows whether the company's ABN is still active
• ASIC's published notices, which show whether a liquidator or administrator has been appointed

Look out for a new company trading under a similar name. CHOICE warns about phoenixing, where a director winds up a company and starts a new one doing the same work without the old debts. A new company with a similar name has not necessarily taken on your warranty, so ask it in writing.

Step 1: Keep your paperwork together

Find everything you were given when the system went in, and keep it on paper and as photos on your phone:

• the contract or invoice, with the install date
• the Certificate of Electrical Safety
• any warranty documents or registration emails
• the system design, if you were given one
• any monitoring login details

Step 2: Find the brands on your system

Photograph the label on your inverter and any battery, close enough to read the brand, the model and the serial number. Do not remove any covers or open the isolators. Your invoice or warranty papers should name the panel brand.

Step 3: Check the warranties with the makers

There are two different promises, and a closure affects them differently.

Product warranties come from the companies that made the gear. Consumer Affairs Victoria says that if a product has a written warranty and is still inside the warranty period, you should contact the manufacturer directly when the business that sold it is insolvent. Ask each maker whether your unit is registered, how long is left, how they want a claim made now the installer has gone, and who pays the labour to swap a faulty part. If a maker asks you to register the unit in your own name, do it now rather than when something fails.

The installer's own warranty came from the business. Under Solar Victoria's rules, retailers in its program must give a minimum five year whole of system warranty that includes quality of work. When the business has gone, that promise usually has nobody left behind it.

The law gives you consumer guarantees too, which sit on top of any warranty. Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 558 181 can tell you what they mean when the business that owed them has closed.

Step 4: Get your monitoring in your own name

Check you can still log in to your inverter's app. If the account was set up under the installer's email address, contact the inverter maker and ask how to move it to your own. Monitoring is how a fault gets spotted early. A system can sit there making no power for weeks with nobody noticing, and you only find out when the bill arrives.

Step 5: If you paid a deposit, act quickly

If you paid for work that was never finished, ask your bank or card provider about a chargeback straight away, as time limits apply. Consumer Affairs Victoria says you may also be able to claim as an unsecured creditor, and that ASIC can tell you who the administrator or liquidator is. Unsecured creditors often get back only part of what they are owed, or nothing, so do not leave the chargeback until last.

Step 6: Find someone to look after it

Any licensed electrician who works on solar can look at a system they did not install. When you ring around, give them the brands and models, the age of the system and what you are seeing, and send your photos. It is reasonable to ask what they charge to come out and whether they will help with a claim to the maker.

If you notice scorching, a burning smell or a breaker that keeps tripping, ring a licensed electrician rather than waiting.

What a new electrician can and cannot do

A new electrician can check the system, find the fault and help you take a product problem to the maker. They cannot take over the old installer's workmanship warranty, as that promise belonged to the business that closed. Be wary of anyone who says a problem can only be fixed by replacing the whole system. Ask them to show you the test results and the failed part, and get a second opinion on anything large.

Owner guides for closed installers

We have written guides for owners of these installers:

• Macedon Ranges Solar Power
• OneTeam Energy
• Solar Dynamics
• Solar Tactics
• Sky Energy and the SkyBox
• RedEarth, in voluntary administration

If yours is not there, look it up on the closed solar companies list.

How we can help

We are Trentham Energy, an electrical and solar business based in Trentham, working across central Victoria and Melbourne, with off grid work anywhere in regional Victoria. Send us your photos and tell us what the system is doing, and we will tell you plainly what we can do: get in touch.

Questions

Does my solar warranty end if my installer goes out of business?

Not all of it. The product warranties from the makers of your panels, inverter and battery usually carry on, and you claim directly with the maker. The installer's own workmanship warranty usually ends in practice, because the business behind it has gone.

Will my solar system stop working if the company that installed it closes?

No. A solar system does not rely on its installer to run. Some batteries and monitoring apps do rely on a maker's online service, so it is worth asking the maker which functions depend on it.

Who fixes my solar panels if the installer has closed?

Any licensed electrician who works on solar. If the fault is covered by a product warranty, the maker decides how the claim is handled and whether labour is covered, so ask before the work starts.

How do I find out if my solar company is still operating?

Check the company on our closed solar companies list, then ABN Lookup and ASIC's published notices. A disconnected phone and a dead website are strong signs, but the registers are what settle it.

Who do I complain to in Victoria?

Start with Consumer Affairs Victoria on 1300 558 181. Solar Victoria's customer service line is 1300 376 393 if your system went in through its program.