Two warranties, two different things
| Warranty | What it covers | Typical term |
|---|---|---|
| Product warranty | Manufacturing defects in materials and workmanship | 10–15 years |
| Performance warranty | Minimum power output over time | 25–30 years |
| Inverter warranty | Inverter defects | 5–10 years |
| Installer workmanship | Structure, wiring, installation quality | Varies — ask |
With Genius Solar you also get five years of free service on top of the manufacturer warranties.
What degradation looks like
A module rated 550 W with 2% first-year and 0.55% annual degradation after that produces roughly:
| Year | Output vs new |
|---|---|
| 1 | ~98% |
| 10 | ~93% |
| 20 | ~88% |
| 25 | ~85% |
| 30 | ~82% |
TOPCon and other n-type modules usually degrade more slowly than PERC.
What shortens a system's life
- Poor structure: rust, loose clamps, inadequate bracing.
- Water ingress at junction boxes or badly crimped connectors.
- Hot-spots from long-term shading or cracked cells.
- Harsh cleaning: abrasive powders, high-pressure jets, walking on modules.
- No surge or lightning protection.
How to make it last
- Use galvanised, well-braced structures.
- Keep cables in conduit and connectors properly crimped.
- Clean gently and regularly — see our cleaning guide.
- Watch the monitoring app for sudden drops.
- Get a yearly health check of connections, earthing and inverter logs.