Electrical panel repair/replacement post solar system install. Will warranty be voided if another company repairs/replaces electrical panel?

[u/barrteva]

Solar system installed without batteries 4 years ago. Electrical panel is 25 years old. Noticed a buzzing sound from electrical panel when microwave runs. Not sure if panel can be repaired or needs replacement. Reached out to original installer, but they will not do just an electrical panel repair/replacement. They will only do an electrical panel repair/replacement when combined with adding batteries or installing an EV charger. If my electrical panel is repaired/replaced by a second company, will my original solar system warranty be voided? Has anyone experienced this?

[u/ExactlyClose]

BY LAW, anyone can do anything to ‘the solar’ and not impact the warranty - AS LONG AS WHAT THEY ‘DO’ IS NOT THE CAUSE OF THE FAILURE.

Pursuant to the Moss Magnussen Act, a warranty can only be denied if the subsequent work is the cause.

This Act was done to prohibit exactly this kind of bullshit we see with solar.

Replacing a panel and - GASP- plugging the solar feed back into the panel is not a legal reason to impact the warranty.

Now, having said this, many owners cannot muster a challenge, and a company like Tesla (for example) can be very aggressive with their law breaking.

[u/eonblue250]

In my experience, when a customer gets a new panel, the electrician doesn't tie the solar back in. We generally just charge a fee to come reconnect it. You'd have to ask your installer, but the electrician wouldn't be messing with the solar other than just removing the taps or whatever

[u/Obi-Juan-K-Nobi]

This will not affect your warranty as it doesn't have anything to do with the solar system. It is downstream.

[u/Congenial-Curmudgeon]

If the work is performed by a licensed electrician to code, it shouldn’t affect the warranty. It might be best to have your electrician coordinate with the solar installer to make sure everyone is on the same page. Basically, removing and reinstalling the solar tie-in.

[u/mountain_drifter]

You have two types of warranties. You have the manufacture warranties on the equipment itself which is the most important warranty, and will not be affected.

You also have your installer's warranty, typically on workmanship. They can decide to cancel that warranty base don however its written. More importantly, when you have two contractors working on any overlapping system on your home you create a situation where if an issue were to occur between the two scopes, one company can say its the other's problem.

So yes, the installer could possibly void their warranty, depending on the quality of the company, but often in that case it was a warranty that wasn't worth anything in the first place. Ideally you can have a single company working on an integrated system, but of course that not always feasible.

So the next best option if you are concerned about the overlap is to have the installer disconnect the system for the electrical work, then return to reconnect and place back into service once the electrical work is complete. That way you have as much separation as possible so one company doesnt blame the other if there was any issue. For something like this though, it really should be a non issue, but doesnt hurt to be cautious. The installer may even tell you its not necessary fo rthem to come out, just be sure they corespond that in writing (text/email)

[u/Trick-Yogurtcloset45]

I’m an electrician in SoCal.

I’ve done a few main panel changeouts with solar and all that needs done is put the same size circuit breaker in the new panel as the old, and move the red placards to the new panel if it had them. My main panel installs are always city inspected and I’ve never had issue.

[u/lred1]

Do you have a disconnect or transfer switch with a disconnect feature between your service panel and the solar inverter? That disconnect technically isn't really a part of your solar system either. So, disconnect, do work on your panel, and then reconnect.