[RE-wrenches] Iverters and their Manufacturers

[Peter Parrish]

I don't know about the rest of this group, but we have noticed a steady
increase in inverter warranty calls. It used to be one a year; then things
started to increase to the point of at least one per-month. In the beginning
it was the just the GEC-1000s, then the SMA EEPROM debacle, followed by the
Fronius IG firmware problem, followed by the Xantrex GT "controlled flight
into terrain". Now both Outback systems we have installed recently have gone
down (#@!?*). We are finding that most manufacturers are essentially
indifferent to installers who are an integral part of their warranty
obligation and are doing a poor job of supporting installers for a variety
of reasons, to wit:

 

(1)   Outback will not reimburse installers period. Not for anything that
they do. They require that equipment be removed and sent to WA for repair or
replacement, or will ship replacement parts when the problem is obvious, but
that's it. We have had one repair last month and are facing a second in
April. We paid extra for the CEC-grade warranty, and I expected more. Based
on this experience, I will not recommend or sell Outback equipment, until
this policy changes.

(2)   Xantrex lost a returned GT inverter! They began dunning us for it. We
had the RMA on file but didn't bother to write down the tracking number from
the Xantrex-generated UPS label (what am I going to do with an inverter that
won't invert?). So not only will they not process our request for
reimbursement, they "want their inverter back".

(3)   SMA didn't want to honor payment on a service call for an EEPROM swap
out, even though I had an email from one of their techies promising just
that. After I produced the smoking gun, they pointed out that we were about
six weeks late in sending in the reimbursement paperwork - they weren't
going to pay us. They've taken a legally defensible position, but it makes
for terrible public relations.

(4)   I thought Fronius might the only cowboy wearing a white hat, but no.
They want us to wait a month before reimbursing not us but our distributor
who only had the misfortune of selling us bad merchandise. How we manage
(and when) to get reimbursed from our distributor, only time will tell, but
I bet they won't cut us a check.

 

But I am saving my best story for last.

 

(5)   Xantrex II: we had a terrible time getting an XW6048 to work properly
(the details are unimportant, except to say the design was spot on). I made
six service calls after installing it last Summer. I did a firmware upgrade,
tightened even terminal and wiggled every wire I could. I checked the module
connections and the PV combiner box. We programmed and reprogrammed every
possible system parameter, to no avail. After about 4 months (5?), I refused
to make any more service calls without a Xantrex technician at my side, and
the customer threatened to see an attorney. Xantrex eventually sent a
technician down to Los Angeles and administered another firmware upgrade and
the system settled down. Do you think they are willing to pay for any of our
post-install service calls? 

 

I don't switch vendors very often or without good reason, but I don't expect
to sell another Outback based system, nor do I expect to sell another GT. I
am trying to convince my salesmen to sell the Sunny Island system over the
Xantrex XW product (for a number of reasons) even though it is a more
expensive proposition. 

 

Is the following too much to ask for? 

 

- Superior, real-time technical support in the field, including generation
of an RMA on the spot

 

- Replacement equipment promptly shipped with prepaid shipping labels for
the return of the defective item.

 

- Receipt of defective equipment by the manufacturer, triggers installer
payment without the requirement of submitting a separate invoice.

 

- Direct payment to company servicing the equipment, within 30 days of the
service.

 

I am not aware of a single Company out there which meets the above four
criteria, but I haven't looked closely at PVP or some of the others. All
other things being equal, I would really like to get behind a manufacturer
of quality inverters who also treats installers as partners in the warranty
department, and be able to extol their virtues to customers. In the next
breath, I will patiently explain to the prospective customer the hazards of
purchasing an inverter from a Company that does not have a sound and
equitable warranty policy.

 

Any thoughts? And let's remember, at least on this list, they are all
listening.

 

- Peter

Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President
California Solar Engineering, Inc.
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26
peter.parrish at calsolareng.com 

 

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