Solar Warranties Explained: Workmanship and No-Leak Terms
A solar system in Tampa Bay comes with at least four warranties, and most homeowners can name one. The panel maker warrants the panels, the inverter maker warrants the inverter, the installer warrants the work, and someone, ideally, warrants the holes in the roof. Fused Solar and Roofing's workmanship warranty is ten years, and its no-leak guarantee on every roof penetration is twenty-five years in writing, under its own roofing license. This is what each of the four covers, who actually pays a claim, and what a homeowner does to keep them in force. Fused Solar and Roofing is a licensed roofing (CCC1331058), electrical (EC13014750), and building contractor (CBC1252064), all three in-house.
1. The panel warranty
Panel manufacturers give two warranties. The product warranty, typically twelve to twenty-five years depending on the maker, covers defects in the panel itself: delamination, cracked glass from a manufacturing flaw, failed junction boxes. The performance warranty, typically twenty-five years, promises the panel will still produce a stated share of its rated output, usually around 85 percent at year twenty-five, and pays if it does not. Both run from the manufacturer to the homeowner and usually transfer to a new owner. What they do not cover is labor to remove and replace the panel, unless the installer's warranty or a premium program does.
Fused's standard JA Solar 440W bifacial carries the manufacturer's product and performance warranties. REC panels, available as an upgrade, carry a labor-inclusive warranty through Fused's REC ProTrust certification, which is the difference between a free part and a free repair in year fifteen.
🔑 Key Takeaway: The panel warranty covers the panel, not the labor to change it. Ask who pays the technician.
2. The inverter warranty
String inverters are typically warranted ten to twelve years, sometimes extendable; microinverters and optimizers typically twenty-five. The warranty covers the part. Labor to diagnose and swap it is the installer's or the homeowner's unless the manufacturer's program includes a labor reimbursement, which some do. A string inverter is the component most likely to be replaced once in a system's life, and Fused tells homeowners to expect it. Fused is certified with Enphase, SolarEdge, Tesla, Generac, Fronius, and SMA and handles the claim with the manufacturer, which matters most when the original installer is no longer around to do it.
3. The workmanship warranty: ten years
Fused warrants its installation work for ten years: the mounting and racking, the wiring and conduit, the connections, the equipment placement, and the labor to correct any of it that fails because of how it was installed. If a connector Fused made fails in year six, or a conduit strap lets go, or a rail clamp was under-torqued at install, Fused fixes it at no charge. The workmanship warranty does not cover the equipment itself, which is the manufacturers' job, or damage from storms, animals, or someone else working on the roof.
Ten years is longer than many installers offer and shorter than the equipment warranties, on purpose. It covers the period when installation errors show up, and it is written by a company that has been in Tampa Bay since 2007 and intends to be here to honor it.
💡 Pro Tip: A workmanship warranty is only as good as the company behind it. Ask how long the installer has operated under its current license and whether it services systems it did not install, which is the test of whether it will still be answering the phone.
4. The no-leak guarantee: twenty-five years
Every roof penetration Fused makes carries its written 25-year no-leak guarantee. If a mount Fused installed leaks, Fused repairs the leak and the damage from it. The guarantee runs the length of the array's life because the penetrations do, and it is written under Fused's roofing license rather than its electrical one, because fixing a roof leak is roofing work. Fused Solar and Roofing is a licensed roofing (CCC1331058), electrical (EC13014750), and building contractor (CBC1252064), all three in-house. A solar company without a roofing license can promise not to leak, but it is not licensed to repair the roof when it does, and the homeowner finds that out at the worst time.
The guarantee is possible because of how the mounts go in: K2 Systems hurricane-rated flashed mounts lagged into the rafters and flashed under the shingle course so water sheds over the mount, and on a roof-and-solar project, set into a self-adhered leak barrier on the whole deck.
If your roof ever needs replacing with solar on it, who is allowed to remove and reinstall the panels, and why, is covered in our guide at https://fusedsolarandroofing.com/post/who-can-remove-reinstall-solar-florida
5. What voids them
Another contractor working on the array or the roof around it without Fused's involvement: a roofer who reflashes a mount, a handyman who moves a panel, a pressure-washing crew. Modifications to the system by anyone other than Fused or the manufacturer. Damage from storms, falling limbs, animals, or fire, which is what homeowners insurance is for. Failure to let Fused address a known problem. And on the manufacturers' side, installation by an uncertified installer or use outside the specification, which is why Fused's certifications with the brands it installs matter to the warranty as well as the work.
⚠️ Warning: The most common way a homeowner loses the penetration warranty is a re-roof where a roofer removes and reinstalls the array without the solar contractor. The mounts are then someone else's work, and the leak that follows has no one standing behind it.
6. How a claim actually works
The homeowner calls Fused. For a workmanship or penetration issue, Fused sends a technician, confirms the cause, and fixes it, with the visit and the repair at no charge if the cause is covered. For an equipment failure, Fused diagnoses it, files the claim with the manufacturer, receives the replacement part, and installs it; whether the labor is covered depends on the manufacturer's program and whether the homeowner is on Fused's maintenance plan, where repair labor is discounted 20 percent. Fused documents every visit with a photo report, which is also what the manufacturer sees with the claim.
7. Keeping the warranties in force
Annual inspection, documented. The manufacturers assume a maintained system, and an annual report with photos is what a homeowner points to when a claim is questioned. Fused's maintenance plan includes that inspection, a cleaning, and the report, and a homeowner on the plan has a year-by-year record of the system's condition from the company that installed it and warrants it. When the roof is eventually replaced under the array, having Fused do the detach and reinstall keeps the penetration guarantee continuous on the new mounts.
8. Why the two Fused warranties are the ones to read
The manufacturers' warranties are the same whoever installs the equipment. The workmanship warranty and the penetration guarantee are the installer's own, and they are where installers differ. Fused's are ten years and twenty-five years, in writing, from a company licensed for both the electrical work and the roof, operating in Tampa Bay since 2007, that services systems it did not install and will service the ones it did. Fused is also an EnergySage Elite Installer, which is independent verification of how those warranties have been honored.
🔑 Key Takeaway: Four warranties. The two that depend on who you hire are the workmanship warranty and the roof penetration guarantee, and those should be long, in writing, and from a company licensed to fix a roof.
Want all four in writing on one proposal? Request a free solar quote at https://fusedsolarandroofing.com/solar-installation
Frequently Asked Questions
What warranties come with a solar installation?
The panel manufacturer's product and performance warranties, the inverter manufacturer's warranty, the installer's workmanship warranty, and a roof penetration warranty. Fused's workmanship warranty is ten years and its no-leak guarantee on every penetration is twenty-five years, in writing.
Does the panel warranty cover the labor to replace a panel?
Usually not; it covers the part. REC panels installed under Fused's REC ProTrust certification carry a labor-inclusive warranty. Fused's maintenance plan discounts repair labor 20 percent.
What does a solar workmanship warranty cover?
The installation itself: mounting, racking, wiring, conduit, connections, and placement, and the labor to correct any of it that fails because of how it was installed. Not the equipment, storm damage, or other contractors' work.
Who fixes a roof leak at a solar mount?
On a Fused install, Fused, under its written 25-year no-leak guarantee and its roofing license. A solar company without a roofing license cannot do roof repair, which is why the guarantee has to come from a licensed roofer.
What voids a solar warranty?
Other contractors working on the array or roof around it, unauthorized modifications, storm or animal damage (which insurance covers), and, for manufacturers, installation by an uncertified installer. A re-roof done without the solar contractor is the most common cause.
Do solar warranties transfer when I sell the house?
Manufacturer warranties usually do, sometimes with a registration step. Fused's workmanship and penetration warranties transfer to the new owner of the home.
Fused Solar and Roofing has installed solar across Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee counties since 2007, with the roof and the solar handled by its own licensed in-house crews. Request a free solar quote at https://fusedsolarandroofing.com/solar-installation
Fused Solar and Roofing holds Florida roofing (CCC1331058), electrical (EC13014750), and building (CBC1252064) licenses, all three in-house, and has served Hillsborough, Pinellas, Pasco, and Manatee counties since 2007. Fused Solar and Roofing is an EnergySage Elite Installer with a 5.0/5 rating and 21+ verified reviews, independent verification, earned not purchased. Request a free solar quote at https://fusedsolarandroofing.com/solar-installation
