It’s a situation more and more Southern California homeowners are facing: the company that installed your solar panels has slowed down, stopped answering the phone, or shut its doors entirely. Your panels are still on the roof. Your system may even still be producing. But the company you counted on for service, monitoring, and warranty support is gone. In the industry, you’ve become a “solar orphan” — and the good news is you have real options. Here’s what to do.
First, the reassuring part: your equipment is still under warranty
The most important thing to understand is that your equipment warranties do not disappear when your installer does. They come from the manufacturers, not the installer, and they remain valid no matter what happened to the company that put them on your roof.
In practical terms that usually means your solar panels carry a manufacturer warranty around 25 years, microinverters (such as Enphase) up to 25 years, string inverters (such as SolarEdge or Fronius) typically 10 to 12 years, and batteries (such as Tesla, Enphase, or Franklin) around 10 years. If a covered part fails, the manufacturer typically ships a replacement at no cost — what you pay for is the labor to install it.
What you may lose: the workmanship warranty
Here’s the part to be aware of. The workmanship warranty — the one covering the quality of the installation itself, like roof penetrations and wiring — is issued by the installer, not a manufacturer. When a company closes or files for bankruptcy, that workmanship warranty is generally voided or discharged. This is exactly why finding a reliable new company to stand behind your system matters, and why a one-time inspection of the original work is worth doing.
A simple step-by-step plan
If your installer is gone, here’s the practical order of operations.
Start by gathering your paperwork — your original contract and any spec sheets tell you which brands of panel, inverter, and battery you have, which is what manufacturers will ask for. Next, confirm your monitoring: most systems report to a manufacturer app (Enphase, SolarEdge, Tesla, and others), and regaining access there means you can see your own production again even if the installer’s portal has gone dark. Then check your equipment warranties directly with each manufacturer so you know what’s covered. Finally, line up a reputable local service company to take over monitoring, handle any repairs, and become your point of contact going forward.
What if you have a lease or PPA instead of owning?
If you didn’t buy your system outright but signed a lease or power purchase agreement (PPA), the company that owns the system is responsible for its maintenance — not necessarily the company that installed it. These agreements are typically transferred to another provider rather than disappearing. Dig out your lease or PPA paperwork to find out who currently owns the agreement and contact them about service. If you’re unsure, a local solar company can help you read the contract and figure out where you stand.
How a local company takes over an orphaned system
A reputable local installer can adopt a system it didn’t install. That usually starts with an inspection to confirm the system is safe and performing as it should, re-establishing your monitoring through the manufacturer, and then handling any repairs — coordinating manufacturer warranty claims for parts and doing the labor. From there, you have a real company to call again: for service, for performance questions, and for upgrades like battery storage, which is often the highest-value addition for systems installed before California’s NEM 3.0 rules changed how exported power is credited.
Why choose a local company for this
When you’ve already been let down by an installer that vanished, the last thing you want is another company that might not be there in a few years. We’ve served Orange County, Los Alamitos, Rossmoor, and the South Bay since 2008. We’re a local team that handles its own work — so when you call, you reach people who know this area and will still be here. We regularly take over orphaned systems, service installs we didn’t build, and help homeowners get back to confident, money-saving solar.
Don’t wait for a small problem to become a big one
A system without anyone watching it can quietly lose production — or develop an issue that’s far cheaper to fix early. If your solar company has gone quiet or out of business, the smartest move is a simple assessment of where your system stands.
Call us today at 562.852.5626 or request a free solar assessment and let Solar Source take care of your system from here.
This article is general information, not legal advice. If your installer has filed for bankruptcy and you’re pursuing a warranty or contract claim, consider consulting an attorney about your specific situation.
