REC Group launches triple 25-year warranty, doubles coverage on TwinPeak and N-Peak solar modules

Robust warranties are becoming a new battlefield among the leading solar panel manufacturers with REC Group the latest one to boost the warranty coverage for its products. The Norwegian solar panel maker has launched a new ProTrust Warranty package, which includes a 25-year product warranty, 25-year performance warranty and up to 25-year labor warranty, and doubled the product warranty duration from 10 to 20 years for all deliveries of its TwinPeak and REC N-Peak high-performance solar panels since October 1, 2018.

The REC ProTrust Warranty is exclusively offered by certified REC Solar Professional installers, whereas REC’s 20-year product warranty, 25-year performance warranty and no labor warranty apply to panels put up by all other installers. The triple 25-year warranty applies to installations up to 25 kW, whereas the installations in the 25-500 kW range have a shorter labor warranty of 10 years. All panels are eligible for a +5 year product warranty extension, as part of the REC ProTrust Warranty

While well above the industry average, a 25-year warranty deal is not a novelty. It is already offered on the entire range or individual products by the likes of US.-headquartered Sun Power, LG Electronics, and Q Cells. In more detail, the REC ProTrust Warranty encompasses:

• Product warranty: Covers panel defects, be they material flaws and assembly faults, according to the product warranty conditions and safeguards superior panel quality for 25 years.

• Performance warranty: Ensures that REC panels perform exactly as expected to, maintaining their premium power output every year for 25 years and is applicable to all products currently in production

• Labor warranty: In the event that the panel needs to be serviced by a REC Certified Solar Professional installer, REC will pay a fix labor fee to cover the cost of repair or replacement of the panels or will refund the defective panels for 25 years for installations up to 25 kW and for 10 years for installations between 25-500 kW, subject to further conditions.

“Our product, performance and labor guarantee builds on the impeccable quality of REC products to create a gold-standard warranty package for our customers,” Steve O’Neil, CEO of REC Group said. “REC’s commitment to innovation and producing the highest quality PV modules with near zero failure rates means that homeowners and businesses enjoy greater economic security and energy autonomy.”

In addition, the manufacturer has reduced the annual power degradation of its products over the full 25-year duration applicable to panels delivered to customers on or after October 1, 2018. Under the new terms, first-year degradation is reduced from 3% to 2.5% for all REC TwinPeak products – with the new REC N-Peak solar panel, released last year, already having a first-year degradation of just 2%. Moreover, in years 2 to 25, the warranted annual power loss is improved from 0.7% to 0.5% for all REC 72-cell solar panels that feature REC’s unique frame design. As a result, the final warranted power output increases to at least 85.5% after 25 years of operation.

Describing it as “the lowest claims rate in the industry”, REC claims that from more than 4 million panels manufactured each year, fewer than 400 return from the field while under warranty.