Infinity solar in liquidation – what happens to my warranty?

Infinity Power, previously know as Infinity Solar went into liquidation on 19 February 2016.  Another Brisbane Solar company gone bankrupt, bust, insolvent, kaput.

A sad day for all the employees of a top Brisbane Solar company. An unfortunate day for Infinity’s past customers who will no doubt be asking: What happens to my solar warranty?

*DISCLAIMER: MC Electrical is not affiliated with Infinity Solar or any other third party sales companies. However, we have over 12 years experience in the solar industry. So, if you’re having issues with your Infinity Solar Install, Give us a call today on 07 3268 3836 so that we can get your solar system producing power like it was meant to. 

“What happens to my solar warranty?”

The good news is that Infinity had a reputation as a quality solar company. A few years ago, one of my Electricians moved from Brisbane started working for Infinity. I catch up with him from time to time. He still swears – even though he lost his job with Infinity, that the quality of their installation and product was second to none. I would argue second only to MC Electrical.

However what happens if something does go wrong with your Infinity Solar System? Your warranty generally comes in three parts. Your inverter warranty, your panel warranty, and your workmanship warranty.

Is my Infinity inverter warranty still valid?

Infinity solar generally used quality solar inverters. As of June 2016, all inverter manufacturers used by Infinity are honouring their product warranty. While the inverter manufacturer will honour the product warranty but you will generally have to pay for the cost of the labour to diagnose and replace the unit. If you are in the greater Brisbane area, we can help with that.

Here is a list of inverters that Infinity used to Install:

SMA.
If you had an SMA inverter installed, that’s probably not your problem. However from time to time SMA inverters do fail, and the product will be covered under warranty. In most cases, SMA requires that an electrician attends site and calls SMA tech support to identify that it is in fact the inverter that is faulty. The labour content is paid by the homeowner.

Aurora / ABB.
ABB has had their fair share of issues with their inverters failing. To put a number on that, without exaggeration, we would replace one or 2 ABB inverters each week for the past year. However, to their credit, ABB do honour their product warranty.

Selectronics.
Selectronics are an Australian-built hybrid and off grid inverter/charger manufacturer. Selectronics a stable and quality manufacturer- you won’t have issues with warranty. We charge a service call to diagnose and replace.

Kaco.
Selectronics partnered with German build Kaco inverter and became their distributor in Australia. Your Kaco warranty will be honoured via Selectronics. We can help with that.

Fronius.
If your inverter is Fronius, you will have no problems. We are Fronius service partners so can easily help you with that. Your warranty will be honoured.

Enphase.
While I’m not the biggest fan of Enphase anymore, they are a great product. We have installed thousands of Enphase micro-inverters before regulation changes affected their viability. Enphase can help us remotely diagnose your issue as long as your system is still connected to the internet.

Zeversolar.
Why a company like Infinity continued to installed Zeversolar is beyond me. They are a cheap Chinese inverter that use the SMA brand for marketing power. But the few we installed failed within 12 months. They are backed by SMA, so claiming warranty on the product (not the labour) through us will not be an issue.

Is my Infinity Solar Panels warranty still valid?

In most cases, yes. Infinity generally used quality solar panels. However identifying faulty panels can take a little more work to identify, so you will be out of pocket a little for the labour. These are the main panels that Infinity power used:

Solar World.
Solar World is the last of the true German Made panels. You would have paid a bit if you chose SolarWorld panels, and I‘d be surprised if the panel is your concern. SolarWorld was still a Bloomberg tier 1 panel manufacturer in Q1 2016

Schott.
Schott was a quality German manufacturer. We’ve never come across warranty issues with Schott. It seems they no longer have a presence in Australia but we’ll give your warranty a schott.

QCells.
QCells is a high-quality panel with a solid reputation and a significant presence in Australia. If you have any issues with your QCells panels, then QCells will honour your warranty.

Trina.
Trina is a huge player in the Australian solar market with the largest Tier 1 in-house module Manufacturer in the Bloomberg Tier 1 list in Q1 2016. You shouldn’t have a problem with warranties should your Trina panels fail.

Jinko.
Jinko is a big player but isn’t the best panel on the market. In the past, we have had issues with Jinko warranties, but if you push the point, you should be fine.

SunPower.
SunPower is the world’s best solar Panel. The salesman was telling you the truth. MC Electrical have just become partners with SunPower. You won’t have any issues with their warranty should you ever need it.

CSUN.
I’ve got bad news. CSUN is an embarrassment to the Bloomberg Tier 1 list. Their panels today are cheap and nasty. CSUN was a more recent addition to Infinity’s list. If your system has CSUN panels, I’d put my money on the fault being with your panels. I wouldn’t bank on your warranty, but I’ve never needed to try.

REC Panels.
REC make a quality Non-Chinese tier 1 panel. With their headquarters in Norway, the panels imported to Australia are manufactured in Singapore. REC still has a strong presence on the Bloomberg Tier 1 list and a firm market share in Australia. Your warranty shouldn’t be an issue.

Is my Infinity workmanship warranty still valid?

No. I’m afraid not – but it’s not all bad. While poor workmanship is common with companies that used junior transient sub-contractors, Infinity had workmanship under control. Most of their installation was done by their long-term employees on wages, rather than by transient sub-contractor that took short cuts because they got paid per job. Infinity Solar took quality seriously and regularly inspected the installations.
However, problems can arise with any workmanship.

If your Solar Power system is down or under-performing, call us on 07 3268 3836 and we’ll be able to get you back to producing an abundance of clean green solar power energy.

Lessons Learnt

It is alarming how many Brisbane solar businesses have preceded Infinity Solar and have gone bust, insolvent, into receivership, bankrupt, liquidation, administration, or whatever you care to label it. It calls for solar companies once again to examine their own business principals. So what can we learn from these companies to ensure the longevity of MC Electrical?

Infinity Solar / Infinity Power seemed to do things right. They sold quality products at the right price. They were all over quality installations and lead the industry with the best installation practices.

It seems rapid growth was their downfall. We had a young fat company that once again became a victim to the ups and downs of the industry. Infinity solar only began a few years before MC Electrical. Their aggressive moves, turning them into a national company so quickly, made them top heavy. A lean fit man will hang onto that roller coaster and come out with a smile on his face. Infinity, like so many before, got greedy, then got fat. When the coaster took some loop-de-loops followed by a sharp downturn, they lost their stomach and became yet another victim to the ride that -we who remain, so fondly call the Solar Coaster.