We spoke with the distribution company SunFields Europe, they clarify this and other doubts about the different guarantees and qualities of solar panels.
The acquisition of solar panels has increased significantly in recent years, due, in part, to the new regulatory framework that encourages photovoltaic self-consumption, but also thanks to the growing interest of companies and individuals in the most respectful options with the environment and, of course, in the savings on the monthly electricity bill that this alternative entails.
However, we must never forget that it is not worth saving in the short term if in the long term the losses may be greater than if we had invested our money correctly from the beginning. Therefore, we must be wary of suspiciously cheap products and be especially attentive to the fine print of the guarantees, because, as the experts at Sun Fields Europe explain, this may contain some unpleasant surprise that will manifest itself in the future in the worst of cases. the cases.
Product warranty and production warranty.
Solar panels are products that are expected to have a long average life of use. Adding this to the fact that currently for many consumers the possibility of acquiring these devices is still something new; makes the buyer’s ignorance about what to look for and demand, if you want to get a good solar panel, much greater than in the case of other technological products.
One of the most common mistakes is not paying enough attention to the guarantee they offer. If you do, the buyer unfamiliar with this product might be surprised to find that there are two different warranties: product and production warranties. But what exactly are the differences?
According to the experts of this Galician company specializing in solar panels, the production guarantee refers to the years during which a minimum percentage of performance is guaranteed. The most common is that 90% of minimum production is promised for 10 years and 80% for 25 years.
On the other hand, the product guarantee applies to the solar panel and its components. This is where the confusion arises, since normally it has a duration of 10, 12 or 15 years. What is the reason for this difference?
A questionable business strategy.
Indeed, common sense tells us that both should last the same time, since it is of little use that they guarantee us a minimum production for a device that if it breaks outside the period covered by the product guarantee, will become a useless piece of junk. or outright unusable. In fact, the production guarantee does not apply if the failure is due to components of the module that are damaged or defective. Unfortunately that is usually the main reason why performance is less than promised by the production guarantee.
To find the reason for this nonsense we simply have to ask ourselves who benefits from it and, as many of you may have already guessed, the answer is the manufacturer.
Manufacturers that offer between 10 and 15 years of product warranty simply know that it is very difficult for the device they are selling to last much longer, since their business strategy is based mainly on attracting customers thanks to lower prices than those of the competition. , at the expense of saving on materials, employees and costs in the manufacturing process. This way they get more sales without sacrificing their profit margin.
Often these types of tricks are accompanied by other business practices that can cause a headache when claiming. For example, changing the manufacturing company every few years to avoid covering guarantees or falsifying the origin of the module.
Cheap is always expensive.
In this case, this saying should be added “and not only in terms of money”, because if you thought that the worst thing that could happen to you with a low-cost plate is to discover that you have wasted money on it, you should know that in the worst In most cases there is the possibility of a fire.
Some of the most common defects in cheap solar panels are hot spots, which can completely disable the device; the delamination of the cells of the panel, or the premature deterioration of some important components of the module.
It is clear, therefore, that you should not skimp on the purchase of one of these devices. We must be especially attentive to product and production guarantees, and always demand that both cover a minimum period of 25 years.
On the Sunfields Europe page you have useful guides and informative articles that can help you make a good purchase decision.
