Fronius Warranties Deep Dive: Better Than Most, But Still Pretty Lousy.

Fronius is an Austrian company that makes high-quality solar inverters.  They’re in demand by installers here in Australia because:

• They’re reliable.
• Easy to install.
• Provide plenty of flexibility for designing the layout of solar systems.
• Have excellent installer and customer support.

All this wonderfulness doesn’t come cheap; they are premium inverters sold at a premium price.  But many installers think the price is more than worthwhile.  You might think a premium solar inverter that seems so superb would come with an awesome warranty, but that’s not the case.  While better than most, it still falls well short of being what I’d call good.

In this deep dive into the details of the Fronius solar inverter warranty in this article, I will…

• Compare the warranty length with competitors.
• Outline how Fronius’s “5 Plus 5” warranty gives 10 years of warranty coverage, but the second half isn’t much good.
• Give a list of components the warranty doesn’t cover.
• Reveal what the warranty does cover and the three remedies Fronius can decide to provide.
• Tell the terrible tale of how, in the warranty’s final 5 years, getting a replacement can involve having your inverter professionally removed and shipped to Fronius at your expense.
• Explain how Fronius should lift their warranty game.
• Provide a couple of reasons to turn a Fronius inverter warranty-related frown upside down. 

If I seem overly negative, it’s only because the Fronius warranty is terrible.  But it is better than most, and when it comes to Fronius inverters, there is plenty to be positive about.  I have come not to bury Fronius, but to praise it.  And maybe make a fronny joke or two.

Competitor Warranties

So you can easily compare them, I’ve made a graph of warranty lengths for a range of popular solar inverters and one or two less popular ones.  (You can decide which is which.) 

If a warranty covers most parts and labour, it’s marked in dark blue.  If a warranty only covers most parts but not labour, I’ve marked it in baby blue because not paying for labour is weak, like a baby.  They’re in order from best to worst based solely on whether the cost of labour is covered and their length.  Alphabetical order applies to those that are equal:

As you can see, Fronius is ahead of most, but it’s not in front.  This is disappointing given its reputation for reliability and the fact its price point is much higher than Goodwe, which offers a superior 10 year warranty for most parts and labour.

Fronius’s “5 Plus 5” Year Warranty

Any residential Fronius inverter you buy at this time will come with a 5 year warranty that covers most components and labour costs.  This is called “Fronius Warranty Plus”.  If the inverter is registered, it will receive an additional 5 years warranty that covers most parts but not labour or transport costs.  This is just called “Fronius Warranty”.  The registration is free and should be handled by your installer.  To sum up…

• Fronius Warranty Plus:  5 years warranty covering most components, labour, and transport.
• Fronius Warranty:  Another 5 years warranty that starts at the end of the Fronius Warranty Plus.  It covers most components but not labour or transport.

If you want a copy of the Fronius warranty, it’s surprisingly difficult to find on their website.  But if you go to this Fronius warranty download page and scroll down a little, clicking on “Australia” just below “Asia and the Pacific” will let you download it.

Fronius Warranty Plus: Most Components + Labour

A Fronius residential solar inverter will come with a 5 year warranty that covers parts and labour — except for the parts it doesn’t.  There is a whole list of components the warranty says don’t count.  Worst of all, these are the components most likely to fail.  The warranty document specifically says the following are excluded:

“Components of covered products that are subject to regular wear and tear.”

This is what I call bloody annoying.  The parts subject to regular wear and tear are, obviously, going to be the ones most likely to need replacing.  The list of components the warranty excludes includes…

• DC isolators
• Fuses
• Bayonet connectors
• Varistors
• Surge arresters
• String fuses
• Mechanical screw connections if not properly installed

The word “includes” is used before they are listed, so it’s possible they could add additional items that are “…subject to regular wear and tear” to the list.

In my not-at-all humble opinion, the warranty should cover every component Fronius supplies.  If parts aren’t covered it reduces their incentive to improve them.

What Fronius Will Cover

The warranty says Fronius is responsible for any material or manufacturing defect that is Fronius’s fault — provided it doesn’t fit into one of the “regular wear and tear” exceptions. 

What Fronius Won’t Cover

The Fronius inverter warranty has a long list of exclusions they say will void the warranty.  They’re fairly standard and say the inverter must be installed correctly and used normally for the warranty to apply.  A few notable exclusions are…

• It won’t cover problems with the inverter’s appearance that don’t affect its function.
• The warranty document specifically states there is no compensation for lost electricity production.
• The solar inverter must receive regular software updates.  If this isn’t done automatically, the owner or their agent must check for updates at least every three months.  This fairly long period suggests that if you use automatic updates — as is normal — and lose your internet for a few days, there shouldn’t be a problem.

The Warranty’s 3 Remedies

If there is a problem with the inverter the warranty covers, Fronius says they get to choose which of the following three steps they’ll take:

1. Repair it.
2. Replace it with an equivalent unit of the same type, age, and condition.
3. Give a credit note for “…the market value applicable at the time of the service notification, which can be used to purchase a new FRONIUS product.”  No indication is given of how this market value will be determined.

What normally happens is the inverter is repaired or replaced.  I haven’t heard of anyone in Australia getting a “credit note”. 

Under the “Fronius Warranty Plus” — the first 5 years of the warranty — if Fronius decides the solar inverter needs to be replaced, they will pay for its removal and disposal.  The same applies to any parts they decide to replace.  I’m mentioning this to foreshadow a major problem I’ll get to. 

Fronius Warranty: Most Components But No Labour Or Transport

After the 5 years of the “Fronius Warranty Plus” ends, registered inverters will have 5 years of just “Fronius Warranty” without the “Plus”.  This covers parts only — with the same exemptions for parts that suffer “regular wear and tear”.  No labour is paid for.  This seems fairly straightforward, but it’s actually far worse than just “Fronius Warranty Plus” without labour costs. 

It’s a lot worse because if Fronius decides an inverter or component needs replacing, they can require the owner to deliver it to them before they provide a replacement.  So getting a replacement inverter can require paying a qualified person to remove the original and then sending it to Fronius at your expense.  The warranty also says you’ll have to pay Fronius to ship you a replacement inverter or parts.  It specifically says it won’t cover…

“Costs of shipping and transport to FRONIUS or to a FRONIUS Repair Center (including customs duties, export certificates, etc.) for the defective components or the defective unit and return of the replacement components or replacement unit to the warranty holder.”

This could be a considerable amount of money, so the “Fronius Warranty” does not provide good protection.

It’s Transferrable

One good thing is the warranty states it is transferrable.  If you sell your home, you can transfer the warranty to the new owner, so long as the solar inverter stays where it was originally installed and isn’t modified.

You Are Protected By Consumer Guarantees

While Fronius’s warranty is better than what most manufacturers provide, it’s still pretty lousy.  Fronius should be ashamed that its competitor, Goodwe, provides a better warranty for considerably cheaper solar inverters.  At a minimum, I think Fronius should…

• Cover parts, labour and transport for at least 10 years.
• Cover all components provided and not exclude those that experience “wear and tear”.

Fortunately, we don’t have to sit around and wait for Fronius to get its act together.  All household purchases are covered by Australian Consumer Guarantees that provide better protection than any inverter warranty I’ve seen.  Goodwe’s warranty is better because it has been brought more in line with our Consumer Guarantees, and Fronius should do the same. 

Fronius Inverters Are Better Than Their Warranty

The Fronius inverter warranty is terrible.  But it is less terrible than most.  Fronius reliability also provides plenty of protection against the need to make a warranty claim in the first place.  They’re not perfect and sometimes fail within their warranty periods, but they do very well given their large numbers in this country. 

Fronius also takes after sales customer service seriously and generally can be persuaded to live up to their obligations under Australian Consumer Law.  So, provided you can afford one, you’re better off with a Fronius than many other solar inverters.

Fronius achieved gold for the third year in a row in SQ’s Installers’ Choice Awards 2023 – Best Inverters. The company was also voted by installers as offering the best after-sales support.

You can compare Fronius specifications and pricing with a bunch of other brands on the SolarQuotes inverter comparison page, and pick up some tips on choosing solar inverters here.

Original Source: https://www.solarquotes.com.au/blog/fronius-inverter-warranty-review/