[RE-wrenches] Warranty repair costs [was Evergreen goes down]

[Joel Davidson]

How much does a $29 part cost your business when you have to pay a technician to travel to a jobsite, troubleshoot, submit an RMA or order a replacement, and return and replace the bad unit? I advise contractors not to subsidize bad equipment suppliers by doing repairs and replacements at their own expense. I also advise suppliers to factor in realistic service costs and support their installing contractors.

Joel Davidson

  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Jason Szumlanski 
  To: RE-wrenches 
  Sent: Friday, August 19, 2011 3:47 AM
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Evergreen goes down


  Sounds like you are making a good argument for microinverters. We've already had that warranty discussion, but if module mismatch is an expensive and difficult to manage module warranty issue, microinverters allow you to, a) not replace a bad module, or b) replace it with a different module if physical size permits.

   

  All I am saying is that warranty becomes less of an issue as equipment prices drop. When my DVD player cost $500 I wanted a warranty. When it cost $29, not so much.

   

  Jason Szumlanski

  Fafco Solar

   

  From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of Joel Davidson
  Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 5:48 PM
  To: RE-wrenches
  Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Evergreen goes down

   

  Hello Jason,

   

  Warranty coverage could be a non-issue if you buy from a company with a warranty escrow account. Still, call-back costs and finding same-size, same-spec replacement modules costs do matter. Factor in travel time, labor, troubleshooting, finding replacement modules, paperwork, phone calls, etc. to replace 200-watt modules that cost less than $400? Not to mention how selling bad products and buying from unreliable suppliers affect your reputation. How many spare modules and inverters can a contractor afford to stock? The risk is always there because even reputable manufacturers make bad modules. The pile of bad modules made by reputable companies keeps growing. Europeans have recently recycled 600 tonnes of solar modules plus thousands of dead inverters. See 
  http://www.waste-management-world.com/index/display/article-display/2373267650/articles/waste-management-world/opinion/2011/08/Solar_PV_Recycling_-_One_Step_Ahead_.html 

   

  600 tonnes at 40 lbs/module = approx 33,000 modules at 150 watts = approx 5 MW. 5 MW sounds like a lot but is only 0.03% of the 16 GW installed PV in Europe. Are wrenches seeing less than 0.03% of the modules they install ending up in the trash or sent back to the manufacturer?

   

  Yes, Astropower made a good module. Some good people use to work there.

   

  Joel Davidson

   

   

    ----- Original Message ----- 

    From: Jason Szumlanski 

    To: RE-wrenches 

    Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 12:10 PM

    Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Evergreen goes down

     

    Pretty soon I believe warranty coverage will become a virtual non-issue. At well under $2/watt, does it matter much anymore? Is there really that much risk of product or performance failure with most reputable manufacturers?

     

    Yes, I paid $10+/w for Astropower modules over a decade ago, and warranty definitely mattered at that time.

     

    Anyway. sad to see them go. We were a big fan for a while.

     

    Jason Szumlanski

    Fafco Solar 

     

     

    From: re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org [mailto:re-wrenches-bounces at lists.re-wrenches.org] On Behalf Of boB Gudgel
    Sent: Thursday, August 18, 2011 2:23 PM
    To: RE-wrenches
    Subject: Re: [RE-wrenches] Evergreen goes down

     

    On 8/18/2011 11:10 AM, Marco Mangelsdorf wrote: 

    Evergreen Solar, one of the last remaining independent U.S. module manufacturers, announced their plan to file for bankruptcy protection this week.

     

    Done in by plummeting module pricing no doubt.

     

    I'm sure you all are getting the same kind of solicitation emails that I get from mod manufacturers and wholesalers from across the globe peddling mods at low, low prices, including Evergreen.

     

    Anyone have any idea what's going to happen to the warranty coverage for Evergreen mods?  Will they become unwanted, unwarrantied orphans, a la Astropower?

     

    Sad, sad..

     

    marco

     




    I'd beware of newer companies offering say,   50 year warranties !

    Hopefully NOT the new business model  !

    boB






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