Extra warranty for SMA Inverters (10, 15, 20, 25)

[GreenJoe]

Hi all,

I have a customer that is keen to purchase the extra warranty for his SMA inverter. I had been told in the past it is not worth it as;

1. It is likely that the inverter will last more than the standard 5 year period supplied
2. The cost of replacing an inverter in the future will come down significantly

What do you think to the above points?

Cheers

 

[claypole]

On the SMA site warranty extension appears to work out at 450 Euros(ex vat) per 5 years, but more importantly the extension can be taken out at any point during the first 5 year warranty period, so you have the opportunity to suck it and see. I believe for a Fronius extension you have to decide within 6 months of install.

 

[Worcester]

My standard reply to customers is:

With regard to warranty, SMA have over 20 years experience of making inverters, and they are provide a manufacturer’s warranty of 5 years (see attached) specification sheet, extended warranties are available from SMA. Bearing in mind that these inverters have been installed for a number of years in Germany, any problems should have been picked up by now. Experience tells us, that, as with all l electronic equipment, there are usually three stages of failure, doa (Dead on Arrival), they go wrong within six months (after everything been used for a while at capacity), or they just work. ...

I have attached details of the warranty and extended warranty options, - it can be extended for 900 Euros to 20 years, at that price I would presume that they don’t anticipate many failures.

Here's SMA' extended warranty form: B-GV-ZEN110415.pdf

Gordon

 

[claypole]

Thanks Gordon. I'd clearly pulled my E450 figure from the 4-9kw category. I think your standard wording is excellent and the customer can still make a judgement call on whether they want the added security of a warranty but can make that judgement on the basis of sound advice.