Over 100 solar companies went bankrupt in 2024 alone, leaving hundreds of thousands of homeowners without warranty support or monitoring. Here's what you need to know — and what to do right now.
Your panels still produce electricity. Solar panels have no moving parts and typically last 25-30 years regardless of who installed them.
Your manufacturer warranty survives. Panel warranties (25 years) and inverter warranties (12-25 years) are with the manufacturer, not your installer.
Your utility agreement is unaffected. Net metering, feed-in tariffs, and your utility connection don't depend on your installer.
Workmanship warranty — covers installation defects like roof leaks, wiring issues, or improper mounting. Usually 10 years.
Monitoring & alerts — if your installer was watching your system, no one is watching it now. Problems can go unnoticed for months.
Service relationship — no one to call when something goes wrong or when you need maintenance.
Run a free SolarDoctor health check to compare your actual production against what your system should be generating based on its size and location.
Locate your panel manufacturer warranty (check the panel labels for the brand) and inverter warranty. These are still valid and are your most important documents.
Hire a local licensed solar installer to inspect your roof penetrations, wiring, and mounting hardware. Budget $150-400. This catches the issues your workmanship warranty would have covered.
Don't rely on anyone else to watch your system. SolarDoctor gives you free health scores and email alerts when your system underperforms.
The biggest risk for solar orphans is "set it and forget it" — months of lost production that you don't notice until your electric bill spikes.
Run a health check in 2 minutes. See if your system is producing what it should.
Run Free Health CheckSelect your installer below for specific guidance on what warranties you still have and what steps to take.
Bankrupt (Chapter 7) (2024)
150,000+ customers affected
AZ, CA, CO, FL, NV, TX, UT
Bankruptcy (Chapter 11) (2024)
500,000+ customers affected
CA, AZ, NV, CO, TX, FL, NY, NJ, MA, CT, HI
Closed / Under Investigation (2022)
40,000+ customers affected
NC, SC, VA, OH, GA, TN, IN, PA
Closed (2024)
100,000+ customers affected
NJ, NY, CT, PA, FL, CA, TX
Don't see your installer? Run a free health check — it works regardless of who installed your system.