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<div class=Section1>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>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:</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>(1)<font
size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>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.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>(2)<font
size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>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”.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>(3)<font
size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>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.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>(4)<font
size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>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.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>But I am saving my best story for last…</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in;text-indent:-.25in'><font size=3
color=black face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>(5)<font
size=1 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'>
</span></font></span></font><font color=black><span style='color:black'>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?
</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>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. </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Is the following too much to ask for? </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>- Superior, real-time technical support in
the field, including generation of an RMA on the spot</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>- Replacement equipment promptly shipped with
prepaid shipping labels for the return of the defective item.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>- Receipt of defective equipment by the
manufacturer, triggers installer payment without the requirement of submitting
a separate invoice.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>- Direct payment to company servicing the
equipment, within 30 days of the service.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>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.</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>Any thoughts? And let’s remember, at least
on this list, they are all listening…</span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 color=black face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;color:black'>- Peter</span></font></p>
<p><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:
Arial;color:navy'>Peter T. Parrish, Ph.D., President<br>
California Solar Engineering, Inc.<br>
820 Cynthia Ave., Los Angeles, CA 90065<br>
Ph 323-258-8883, Mobile 323-839-6108, Fax 323-258-8885<br>
CA Lic. 854779, NABCEP Cert. 031806-26<br>
peter.parrish@calsolareng.com</span></font><font size=2 color=blue face=Arial><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:blue'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
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