Your installer is gone, your system is still on your roof, and you have work to do. Equipment warranties from the panel and inverter manufacturers survive the closure. The workmanship warranty does not. Acting in the right order during the first month protects your monitoring access, preserves manufacturer coverage, and gets you connected with a qualified contractor before problems arrive. This guide walks through the five moves that matter and the order to do them in.
Register your equipment directly with the manufacturer this week
Direct manufacturer registration is the single action that protects your system the most after a closure. Right now, the panel and inverter manufacturers may list your installer as the registered point of contact. You want your name on the file before any claim arrives.
Pull your installation contract, spec sheet, and permit paperwork. You need the panel manufacturer (Canadian Solar, Jinko, Trina, Panasonic, SunPower), the panel model with at least one serial number, and the inverter type and serial. Most of this is on the spec sheet or printed on the equipment itself.
Visit the panel manufacturer's warranty registration portal and create an account under your name, address, and installation date. This creates a direct warranty relationship that does not depend on the installer.
The inverter step is the bigger win. Enphase customers go to enlighten.enphaseenergy.com and create a homeowner account using the system serial number. SolarEdge customers go to monitoring.solaredge.com and do the same. String inverter brands like SMA or Fronius have similar homeowner portals.
Direct accounts mean two things. You keep monitoring access if the installer's app shuts down, and you get a permanent line to manufacturer warranty service across the 10 to 25 years of inverter coverage. Do this before anything else on the list.
Build a documentation folder before records disappear
A central documentation folder is your master reference for the next 25 years, and the time to build it is now. Every record your installer held is at risk of going offline as the business unwinds.
Collect the installation contract, spec sheet, signed completion certificate, electrical permit, final inspection report, interconnection agreement with your utility, and the warranty sheets for panels, inverter, and workmanship. Keep invoices and payment records in the same folder.
Add a serial number list. Write down the manufacturer, model, and serial for the panels you can read safely, the inverter, the battery if you have one, and any monitoring gateway. If paperwork ever goes missing, the manufacturer can pull warranty records by serial number alone.
Photograph everything visible. Roof penetrations, the inverter label, electrical disconnects, any staining or loose hardware. Timestamped photos taken before any failure become evidence of installation condition.
Store the folder in two places: a physical binder at home and a cloud backup in Google Drive, Dropbox, or iCloud. Export production history, monthly performance, and alert logs from the installer's platform while you still have a login. This folder becomes the spine of every future warranty claim and contractor inspection.
What survives the closure and what does not
Two warranties cover your system, and only one survives when your installer closes. Knowing the line between them keeps you from giving up coverage you still have.
The equipment warranty survives. Panel manufacturers typically cover panels for 25 years against defects and performance loss. Inverter manufacturers cover their hardware for 10 to 25 years depending on brand and product line. These contracts are between you and the manufacturer, and they remain in force after your installer is gone.
The workmanship warranty does not. That coverage came from the installer and addressed installation labor, racking, roof penetrations, and electrical connections. With the company closed, repairs to their work become your cost.
Three scenarios show how the split plays out. A panel develops a defect: you contact Canadian Solar or Jinko with your registration and serial, and they handle replacement. An inverter fails: you contact Enphase or SolarEdge directly under equipment warranty. A roof leak develops around a panel mount: that is workmanship, and you hire a contractor to fix it at your expense.
Document the system's current condition while you can. Photographs of roof penetrations, the inverter label, disconnects, and any visible damage support a claim against a state contractor recovery fund if your installer was licensed and the damage is verifiable.
Find a qualified contractor and confirm your utility account
A vetted local contractor handles repairs, manufacturer warranty claims, and monitoring once your installer is no longer available. Hire one within the first two weeks.
Confirm the contractor is licensed for electrical and solar work in your state and carries active liability insurance. Check that they are certified for your specific inverter brand, since Enphase and SolarEdge each run manufacturer training programs. Ask whether they have worked with systems orphaned by closed installers. Those crews know how to navigate manufacturer support and recovery fund claims.
Get a written quote that breaks out labor, parts, and trip fees. Request two or three local references for similar service work and call them. Most contractors charge for an initial inspection, often in the $100 to $300 range, that checks production against design capacity, looks for hidden defects, and confirms monitoring is reporting cleanly. Ask for the inspection price up front so there are no surprises.
Call your utility next. Verify the account is registered in your name rather than the installer's, that the interconnection agreement is active, and that net metering credits per kWh are still posting. Some states have changed net metering rules, so confirm the rate you receive for exported electricity. A quick call clears most account-side issues if you have your completion certificate on hand.
Special situations: incomplete systems and Freedom Forever
An incomplete install or an installer in bankruptcy calls for extra steps beyond the standard checklist. Handle them alongside the main path.
If your system was never finished, contact the panel and inverter manufacturers directly. Explain the situation and ask about completing the install through another certified installer. File a complaint with your state contractor licensing board and attach the contract, payment records, and a description of what is missing. If you paid by credit card, ask the card issuer about chargeback rights on incomplete work. If you used a solar loan, tell the lender or the loan servicer named on your statement, since they have a financial interest in resolving the project.
Some states run a contractor recovery fund that compensates homeowners for verified damage from a licensed contractor. Nevada's Residential Recovery Fund and Arizona's Residential Contractors' Recovery Fund are two examples. Not every state has one, so search your state's licensing board for the exact process.
Freedom Forever is in Chapter 7 liquidation, converted from Chapter 11 on August 7, 2026 (Dkt 533, Case 26-10522, D. Del.). Equipment warranties from Enphase, SolarEdge, Canadian Solar, and others remain active because they are manufacturer obligations. Keep paying any lease or PPA, because the system is usually owned by a third-party owner rather than by the installer, and confirm any servicer change notice in writing before you send a payment anywhere new. Register your inverter directly with the manufacturer now so your monitoring access does not depend on a company that is winding down.
If Freedom Forever owes you money or unfinished work, the court's deadline to file a proof of claim is October 16, 2026 (Dkt 568). If a financing company funded your unfinished project, the court's conversion order lets it step in to complete open installations (Dkt 533). Our Freedom Forever guide explains how to file and which financing companies the order names.
This is a commercial solicitation that is not affiliated with any governmental agency or electric utility.
Looking for solar service support?
Solrova is building its service-contractor network in Nevada and California. You can submit a request, but a contractor match or repair date is not guaranteed. Solrova does not decide warranty coverage or resolve bankruptcy claims.
Request Service SupportRelated Reading: For guidance specific to Freedom Forever, see Freedom Forever Chapter 7: Who Services Your Solar System Now. For monitoring guidance, see How to Monitor Your Solar System. For broader installer selection advice, see What Questions to Ask Before Signing.