Your Solar Installer Went Out of Business. Here’s What Still Works and What Doesn’t.
Your solar installer is gone. The phone number is disconnected. The website redirects to nothing, or worse, to a domain squatter. You paid tens of thousands of dollars for a system that’s supposed to run for 25 years, and the company that sold it to you didn’t make it past year three.
You are not alone, and you are not without options.
Florida has seen a wave of solar installer bankruptcies and shutdowns over the past several years. Some overexpanded. Some were never built to survive a slow sales quarter. Some were bad actors from the start, financed on debt and gone the moment the lawsuits started stacking up. Whatever the reason, the result is the same for the homeowner: a system on your roof, a loan or lease still attached to your name, and no one answering the phone when something breaks.
What Still Works When Your Installer Disappears
The good news first: your solar panels themselves almost never stop working because a company folds. Panels are largely passive equipment. A properly installed panel will keep converting sunlight to electricity for decades regardless of whether the installer’s LLC still exists.
Your Panel Manufacturer Warranty Usually Survives
Panel manufacturers (think Qcells, REC, Silfab, Panasonic) are typically separate companies from your installer. Their product warranties (usually 25 years for defects) and performance warranties (guaranteeing a percentage of output over time) are contracts with the manufacturer, not the installer. If your installer vanished but your panels are from a manufacturer still in business, that warranty is very likely still valid. You’ll just need to file the claim yourself instead of having the installer do it for you.
Your Inverter Warranty Depends on the Brand
Inverters are a different story, and a more fragile one. Some inverter manufacturers (Enphase, SolarEdge, SMA) are large, stable companies with their own direct warranty support independent of the installer. Others were smaller or private-labeled, and if that manufacturer also went under, that warranty is effectively worthless paper.
Net Metering and Utility Interconnection Still Apply
Your interconnection agreement with FPL or your local utility is between you and the utility, not you and the installer. That agreement doesn’t disappear. Net metering credits keep accruing. This is one area where an installer’s closure changes nothing.
What Breaks When Your Installer Disappears
Installation Workmanship Warranties
This is the big one, and the one most homeowners don’t understand until it’s too late. The installation warranty (typically covering roof penetrations, mounting, wiring, and labor for 5 to 10 years) is a promise made by the installer, not the manufacturer. When the installer’s business entity dissolves, that warranty dissolves with it. There is no one left to sue, no one left to call, and in most cases no bonding company standing behind a defunct LLC.
Monitoring Platforms
Many installers set up production monitoring under their own company account rather than the homeowner’s. When the company goes dark, the monitoring dashboard often goes dark with it, even though the inverter is still reporting data somewhere in the cloud. You lose visibility into whether your system is actually producing what it should.
Warranty Claims Processing
Even where a warranty technically survives (manufacturer-backed), someone still has to file the claim, coordinate the truck roll, and manage the paperwork. Manufacturers are not built to deal directly with homeowners at scale. Losing your installer means losing your point of contact into that process.
How to Find Out What You Actually Have
Before you assume the worst, pull your paperwork. You’re looking for three documents:
- Your original contract, which lists the panel manufacturer, model number, and inverter brand
- Your interconnection agreement with your utility
- Any warranty certificates provided at installation, separate from the sales contract
If you can’t find these, the manufacturer names are usually printed directly on the equipment. A technician can identify your panel and inverter brand from a rooftop inspection in under 20 minutes.
What To Do Next
Get an Independent System Health Check
The fastest way to know where you stand is a full inspection from a company that didn’t sell you the system and has no incentive to upsell you into a new one. A proper inspection checks panel output against expected production, inverter fault codes and error history, mounting hardware and roof penetration integrity, and wiring connections at the combiner box and disconnects.
Re-Register Your Warranties Directly With Manufacturers
If your panel or inverter manufacturer is still operating, you can often register your system directly under your own name, giving you a direct line to warranty support instead of routing through a dead company.
Find a Company That Specializes in Orphaned Systems
Not every solar company wants your maintenance business if they didn’t do the install. Servicing someone else’s system means troubleshooting equipment you didn’t choose, wiring you didn’t run, and mounting you didn’t specify. Look specifically for a company that advertises repair and maintenance for systems installed by other companies, not just new installations.
The Bottom Line
A defunct installer is a serious problem, but it is not a system-ending one. Your panels are probably fine. Your manufacturer warranties are probably intact. What you’ve lost is your point of contact, your workmanship warranty, and possibly your monitoring visibility. All three of those are solvable with the right team.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does my solar system still work if the installer goes out of business? Yes. Solar panels continue producing electricity regardless of the installer’s business status. The equipment itself is not connected to the company’s operations.
Can I still file a warranty claim if my installer is gone? It depends on whose warranty it is. Manufacturer warranties on panels and inverters usually survive and can be claimed directly with the manufacturer. Installation workmanship warranties typically do not survive the installer’s closure.
Who do I call if my solar company disappeared? Look for a solar repair and maintenance company that services systems regardless of who installed them. Bring your contract and any warranty documents to your first inspection.
Will my net metering agreement with FPL be affected? No. Your interconnection agreement is with the utility, not the installer, and remains in effect.
If your solar installer has closed and you need a straight answer on what’s covered and what isn’t, SoFlo Solar Advisors specializes in inheriting and repairing systems left behind by companies that didn’t survive. Schedule an independent system health check.
