What is a Solar Power Production Guarantee?

Installing a solar system is a significant investment—one you want to see a return on. This return depends on your new solar system generating the energy you need, which is where energy production guarantees come into play. Solar companies offer various warranties and guarantees, including production guarantees, manufacturing warranties, and workmanship warranties.

However, these different assurances are often presented together without clear distinctions, leading to potential misunderstanding and confusion about what’s actually covered.

Here we will focus on solar power production guarantees, explaining their importance and how they can benefit you, as a solar adopter.

What is a Solar Production Guarantee?

A production guarantee is a commitment from solar providers and installers stipulating the solar panel system they install will generate a certain amount of energy over a particular time period. 

For instance, a company might guarantee a solar panel system will produce a certain number of kilowatt-hours (kWh) annually, accounting for seasonal variations and weather conditions. Energy production guarantees are based on the solar panel system’s design, installation, and expected performance. They protect homeowners by addressing gaps between what a solar company quotes and the rooftop solar panel system’s actual production. 

Not all solar companies offer production guarantees. However, they can be a good indicator of solar system quality and the company’s confidence in the type of equipment they’re installing. At Blue Raven Solar, we offer a production guarantee as a testament to the high-quality workmanship we always strive to deliver. Our guarantee reflects our commitment to addressing any issues promptly and ensuring homeowners’ satisfaction to the best of our ability.

We use the latest solar technology and your historical energy needs to recommend a uniquely designed solar system to meet or exceed your energy requirements, based on your goals. We then guarantee your rooftop system will produce the specified amount of energy. If your solar system underperforms by more than 50% over three consecutive months or by more than 15% over 18 consecutive months, contact us. We will evaluate your solar panel system’s performance and either add more photovoltaic (PV) panels to your system free of charge or compensate you for the energy shortfall.

What is the Difference between Production Guarantees and Warranties?

While both production guarantees and warranties offer protection, they serve different purposes. A production guarantee certifies a system’s energy output, while a warranty typically covers the solar equipment and installation quality. Warranties might cover defects or malfunctions, but they do not guarantee a specific energy production level. 

At Blue Raven Solar, we offer warranties for service, manufacturing, installation, and equipment. While we aim to provide accurate estimates of potential energy production and savings based on historical utility bills and your specific goals, it’s important to note that actual results may vary. Factors such as weather patterns, changes in energy consumption, and utility rates can influence the overall performance and savings of your solar panel system.

Why You Should Choose a Solar Provider with Production Guarantees

Some solar companies provide quotes and install rooftop systems that don’t meet expected energy production. This can leave customers frustrated and without options. That’s why energy production guarantees have become popular. They offer peace of mind. However, these guarantees have both advantages and disadvantages. For example, they may provide financial protection, but could also limit system customization options or come with additional costs.

Advantages of a Production Guarantee:

• Ensure customers receive the promised power output by holding solar providers accountable for the system’s performance
• Provide financial security with compensation or additional solar panels if the solar system underperforms
• Encourages a high-quality rooftop installation and continued maintenance

Disadvantages of a Production Guarantee:

• Come with terms and conditions, which customers must understand and adhere to for the production guarantee to be valid
• Accurate predictions of energy production can be challenging in an ever-changing climate

Ultimately, it ensures your clean energy investment yields the expected energy output, maximizing your return on investment. Without such guarantees, there is a risk of underperformance, leading to higher energy costs and longer payback periods. 

However, accurate energy predictions are what make solar production guarantees challenging for solar providers as there are many different elements which can affect system performance.

Key Factors Affecting System Efficiency

The reality is solar production fluctuates. Weather conditions such as cloud cover, rain, and snow can all reduce the amount of sunlight the solar panels receive, affecting overall production. Shading from trees, buildings, or other obstructions can also decrease the solar panel system’s efficiency by blocking sunlight.

Factors inherent to the solar panel system itself also affect performance. These include the solar system’s orientation and tilt, as proper alignment captures the most sunlight throughout the day to maximize sun exposure and ensure optimal performance The efficiency of the solar panels, determined by their quality and type, also plays a role in the overall energy output of the rooftop system. High-efficiency, black, tier-1, monocrystalline solar panels generally produce more energy than lower-quality alternatives, which is why Blue Raven Solar prioritizes high-quality panel options.

Blue Raven Solar’s production guarantees offer peace of mind across all scenarios. Our guarantee looks at how your system performs over specific time frames to account for the varying factors which can affect your solar system’s performance.

How Does a Solar Panel System Meet Production Guarantees?

Blue Raven Solar ensures the solar panel systems installed by us will meet production guarantees through several phases. First, system design and planning involve analyzing your past energy consumption and developing a solar panel system which will meet your clean energy needs. Evaluating the installation site, including roof orientation and tilt, allows our designers to develop the right rooftop system and ensure it will obtain maximum sunlight exposure for optimal energy production.

Once the design has been approved, we install high-efficiency solar panels and reliable microinverters to ensure consistent performance. Our certified installers follow industry-based best practices to properly rack and position your solar panel system. 

After energization, advanced monitoring, typically through a mobile app, provides real-time performance tracking on energy production, enabling homeowners to track their system’s performance. If there is cause for concern and a customer requests it, Blue Raven Solar can use these data analytics to analyze performance data, verifying the solar panels are operating within expected parameters.

Regular maintenance and inspections are also crucial for keeping your solar panels operating at peak efficiency and meeting production guarantees over time. This involves cleaning solar panels, trimming trees, and regularly inspecting the solar panel system’s components. Proactive troubleshooting requires early identification and correction of issues, preventing drops in energy production. Routine inspections can also prevent minor issues from becoming significant problems.

How to Track Production

Tracking your solar panel system’s production is simple and can be done through a mobile app, which is specific to the type of inverter installed in your system.

To track your production:

1. Download the appropriate app for your inverter.
2. Set up your account using the information provided during installation.
3. Once set up, you can view your system’s production data in real time, as well as historical data.
4. Check the app regularly to monitor your system’s performance and ensure it’s meeting expected production levels.

While we don’t actively monitor your system post-installation, we encourage you to review your production data frequently. If you notice any significant discrepancies or suspect a performance issue, please contact us. We’ll evaluate the situation and work with you to resolve any problems, ensuring your system continues to provide reliable and efficient solar energy for your home.

Why Choose Blue Raven Solar?

Once you’ve made the decision to go solar, the next question is who you will partner with to design and install your custom, rooftop solar panel system. Any evaluation should include careful examination of the installers’ warranties and guarantees as you’ll want to know you can trust your solar system to provide the power you’ll need.

At Blue Raven Solar, we’ve received over ten thousand five-star reviews for a reason. We’re on a mission to make solar power accessible and affordable, and we stand behind our work at every phase. 

Our installation process is simple and straightforward, starting with a no-obligation solar evaluation. This evaluation will consider your energy use, home, lifestyle, goals, and budget to help you determine whether solar makes sense for your situation. Our team will then design a system optimized for you and walk you step-by-step through the installation process. We’ll secure all necessary permits, coordinate inspections, and help make you aware of available incentives for a simple and hassle-free solar experience from design to energization. 

Our expert team will guide you through every step of the process. Get started with your free solar energy report today.