How Does The Implied Warranty Protect Solar System Purchasers?

In South Africa, the implied warranty that protects solar system purchasers is created by the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), not by the installation contract. Section 55 of the CPA gives every consumer the right to receive goods that are of good quality, in good working order and free of defects, and section 56 creates a six-month implied warranty that the goods will be free of defects and reasonably suitable for the purposes for which they are generally intended. Section 56(3) extends a further implied warranty of quality to any goods installed or applied by the supplier (or by someone the supplier is responsible for) for a period that is the greater of 12 months or a reasonable period having regard to the nature of the goods — which is the principal protection a residential or commercial solar purchaser relies on when panels, inverters or mounting hardware fail after installation. The warranty arises automatically by operation of law; it does not need to be written into the installation contract, and any clause that attempts to exclude or limit it is void under section 51 of the CPA except in the limited circumstances permitted by sections 51(2) and 51(3).

What “Implied Warranty” Actually Means Under the CPA

An implied warranty is a guarantee that exists in law regardless of what the installation contract says — it is not a contractual warranty given by the installer. It sits alongside the common-law warranties of fitness for purpose and merchantable quality, but the CPA’s implied warranties prevail over any contractual term that tries to exclude or limit them (section 51). The implied warranty is given by the supplier (the solar installer selling and installing the system), not by the panel or inverter manufacturer — so the purchaser sues the installer for breach, even where the manufacturer is the one providing the product warranty.

The Three Implied Warranties That Apply to a Solar Installation

The CPA layers three distinct implied warranties over a solar installation. They overlap but each runs on a different clock and covers a different problem, which is why a careful read of the section numbers matters more than the broad label “implied warranty”.

Warranty	Statutory Basis	Duration	What It Covers
Right to goods of good quality, in good working order and free of defects	Section 55, CPA	Generally 6 months from delivery	Manufacturing or latent defects, non-conformity with description or sample, and defects making the goods less useful than reasonably expected.
Implied warranty of quality (the “six-month warranty”)	Section 56(2)–(3), CPA	6 months from delivery for goods generally	The goods will be free of defects, safe, in good working order, and reasonably suitable for their ordinary purpose.
Implied warranty where the supplier installs the goods	Section 56(3), CPA	The greater of 12 months or a reasonable period having regard to the nature of the goods	Defects in the installation itself — workmanship, mounting, wiring, inverter setup — and any resulting damage or non-function.

The 12-month-or-longer warranty under section 56(3) is the key protection for solar purchasers because the installer (the supplier) has done the installation. Without it, the purchaser’s only automatic protection would be the six-month clock on the goods themselves.

What the Warranty Covers and What It Does Not

The implied warranty covers defective panels, inverters, batteries and mounting hardware supplied and installed by the installer; defective mounting, wiring or DC/AC connection work; and systems that fail to perform the function they were sold to perform (for example, a system sized to cover a stated household demand that does not).

The implied warranty does not cover wear-and-tear deterioration after the warranty period; damage caused by the purchaser’s own modifications or by lightning or storm events beyond reasonable design tolerance; or reduction in output that is normal for the panel technology. That is why output warranties from the manufacturer are typically a separate, longer-term instrument with a stepped-degradation formula — they sit alongside the implied warranty, not in place of it.

What Counts as a “Defect” for the Implied Warranty

A defect exists if the goods fail to meet the standard a reasonable consumer would expect — not the standard the installer or manufacturer claims is acceptable. The test is objective: would a reasonable consumer in the purchaser’s position have considered the goods acceptable at delivery?

Common defects reported in solar installations within the first 12 months include:

• Inverter failure shortly after commissioning
• Panel micro-cracking visible on inspection
• Rapid output degradation beyond the rated performance curve
• Isolation switch or wiring faults, including DC arc-fault faults
• Mounting failure on the roof or unauthorised water ingress
• Battery storage defects or premature cell failure

How Long the Implied Warranty Lasts for a Solar System

The six-month implied warranty under section 56(2) applies to the goods themselves (panels, inverters, batteries) from the date of delivery. The section 56(3) warranty of 12 months or a reasonable longer period applies to the installation work done by the supplier. For a solar system, the “reasonable period” is generally longer than 12 months because the goods have a design life of 20–25 years — the implied warranty for the installation work runs at minimum for 12 months and may extend further where the goods cannot reasonably be assessed as defective until they have been in operation for some time.

What the Purchaser Must Do to Invoke the Implied Warranty

To preserve the implied warranty, the purchaser should:

1. Notify the supplier in writing of the defect within a reasonable time of becoming aware of it. Silence is treated as acceptance under section 20 of the CPA, but notification within a reasonable period of discovery is normally sufficient.
2. Allow the supplier a reasonable opportunity to repair or replace the defective goods or redo the defective installation work.
3. Keep records of the installation contract, proof of payment, commissioning report, and any correspondence about the defect — these are essential evidence for a complaint to the National Consumer Commission or a court claim.
4. Do not allow an unauthorised third party to dismantle or repair the system before the supplier has had the chance to inspect. Doing so risks an argument that the purchaser caused or worsened the defect.

What Remedies Are Available If the Installer Refuses to Honour the Warranty

Where an installer refuses to honour a valid claim, the remedies available to a purchaser are:

• Repair or replace the defective goods or redo the defective installation work at the supplier’s cost (section 56(4)).
• Refund the purchase price if repair or replacement is not possible or cannot be done within a reasonable time, or if the supplier previously failed to remedy a similar defect (section 56(5) read with sections 20 and 21).
• Compensation for consequential damages — additional electricity costs, damage to property, lost productivity — recoverable as a damages claim alongside the warranty claim.
• Complaint to the National Consumer Commission (NCC) under section 99 of the CPA, which can investigate and refer the matter to the National Consumer Tribunal (NCT) for an order.
• Court action in the Magistrate’s Court (claims up to R200,000) or the High Court (larger claims) — the forum depends on the value, not on whether it is a CPA matter.

Why the Installer Cannot Contract Out of the Implied Warranty

Section 51(1) of the CPA voids any agreement that excludes, limits, or waives a consumer’s rights under the CPA, except where the CPA itself permits it. Sections 51(2) and 51(3) allow limited exceptions for second-hand goods sold as such, for goods sold at auction, and where the consumer was specifically informed of the defect and agreed to accept the goods anyway — none of these exceptions typically apply to a new solar installation. An “as-is” clause in an installation contract is not effective against a consumer in respect of defects covered by the implied warranty.

How the Implied Warranty Interacts with the Manufacturer’s Product Warranty

The manufacturer’s product warranty (typically 10–25 years on panels, 5–10 years on inverters) is a separate, contractual warranty running from the manufacturer to the purchaser. The implied warranty under the CPA runs from the installer to the purchaser and is enforceable against the installer regardless of whether the manufacturer accepts liability under the product warranty. In practice, installers often route claims to the manufacturer first — but the purchaser is not required to wait on a slow manufacturer process; the CPA claim against the installer is independent and can be pursued directly.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the implied warranty apply if my installer used a third-party electrician for the actual wiring?

Yes — section 56(3) extends the implied warranty to goods installed by someone the supplier is responsible for. A purchaser can hold the installer (the supplier) liable for defective installation work done by a sub-contractor the installer engaged or appointed.

My inverter failed 14 months after installation — do I still have an implied-warranty claim?

Likely yes for the installation element under section 56(3), because the warranty period for installation by the supplier is the greater of 12 months or a reasonable period having regard to the nature of the goods. For a solar system with a 20-year-plus design life, a 14-month failure will generally still fall within the implied warranty. The six-month warranty under section 56(2) on the goods themselves would have expired, but the installation warranty under section 56(3) typically has not.

Can the installer charge me for a service call before assessing whether the fault is covered by the warranty?

Not lawfully — a supplier cannot levy a charge for inspecting goods under a warranty claim before determining whether the warranty applies. The supplier is required to assess the goods at its own cost, and only if it determines the defect is outside the warranty (for example, because the purchaser caused it) may it seek to charge for the inspection and any non-warranty repair.

What if the installer has gone out of business?

The implied warranty claim fails against the installer in that case because there is no entity to enforce against, but the manufacturer’s product warranty continues independently and the purchaser’s recourse is against the manufacturer. A consumer who paid by credit card may also have a chargeback option through the bank under the bank’s own dispute-resolution process.

Do I have to go to court to enforce the implied warranty, or can I just complain to the NCC?

A complaint to the NCC under section 99 of the CPA is the usual first step and the NCC can investigate and refer the matter to the NCT for an order. Court action is available but is not the first or only route — the NCC complaint process is free, does not require an attorney, and is the route most consumers successfully use before any litigation becomes necessary.

If your solar installer is refusing to honour an implied warranty claim under the Consumer Protection Act and the matter has moved beyond a phone call, Burger Huyser Attorneys’ Commercial Law and Litigation teams can advise on the formal route — drafting the NCC complaint, framing the demand to the supplier, or issuing a Magistrate’s Court or High Court claim if the matter escalates. The firm’s head office is at 49 First Avenue, Linden, Randburg (011 888 0246), with branches across Gauteng including Centurion, Pretoria, Sandton, Roodepoort, Bedfordview, Alberton and Midrand. Initial consultations are booked through the Randburg head office or your nearest branch.