Solar Installer Disappeared? How to Rescue an Orphaned Rooftop System

Short answer: If your solar installer has shut down or stopped answering, your rooftop system does not stop being yours. The panels, inverter and net meter carry manufacturer warranties that transfer with the equipment, not with the installer. What you lose is service access — nobody to clear an inverter fault, nobody to file a DISCOM complaint, nobody to finish a pending subsidy claim. The fix is to have a second EPC formally audit and take over the plant.

How to tell your system is actually orphaned

These are the signs we see most often on takeover calls across Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida and Faridabad:

If two or more of these apply, treat the system as unserviced and get it audited before the next monsoon.

Your warranties did not disappear

This is the single most expensive misunderstanding. When an installer folds, homeowners assume the equipment is now out of warranty and either abandon the system or pay to replace working hardware.

• Solar modules carry a product warranty (typically 10–12 years) and a linear performance warranty (typically 25 years) issued by the module manufacturer. Claims are made against the manufacturer using the module serial numbers.
• Inverters carry a 5–10 year manufacturer warranty, extendable on most brands. Service is handled by the brand's own service network, not the installer.
• Structure and workmanship warranties are the only ones that genuinely die with the installer. That is the gap a takeover EPC covers.

What you need before a claim can be filed: the original tax invoice, the module make/model with serial list, the inverter serial number, commissioning date, and the signed net-metering agreement with your DISCOM.

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What a takeover audit covers

A proper handover audit is not a cleaning visit. On an orphaned plant we check, in this order:

1. Safety first — DC isolator condition, earthing continuity, cable insulation, junction-box water ingress. Abandoned rooftops in NCR routinely fail on earthing.
2. Generation against expectation — measured output versus the 3.5–4.5 units per kW per day band for this region. A 5 kW system delivering under 15 units on a clear day has a real fault, not a dirt problem.
3. String and module testing — open-circuit voltage per string, IR camera or module-level check for hotspots and cracked cells.
4. Inverter health — error log history, firmware, fan and capacitor condition, monitoring reconnection to an account you control.
5. Net meter and DISCOM records — export register reading, whether the bi-directional meter is recording correctly, and whether the net-metering agreement is still valid.
6. Documentation recovery — rebuilding the serial list, invoice trail and subsidy status so warranty claims become possible again.

You end the audit with a written condition report, a fix list with costs, and a decision on whether the plant goes onto an annual maintenance contract.

Repair, or repower?

Not every orphaned system is worth restoring as-is.

A repower is often cheaper than people expect because the mounting structure, cabling route and DISCOM approval already exist.

What you should do this week

1. Photograph the inverter display and any error code.
2. Find the original invoice and the net-metering agreement.
3. Note your last three electricity bills — the export units tell us more than the app does.
4. Book an audit. Send the photos on WhatsApp and we can usually tell you the likely fault before anyone visits.

FAQ

My installer has shut down. Is my solar panel warranty still valid?

Yes. Module and inverter warranties are issued by the manufacturer and follow the equipment, not the installing company. You need the invoice and serial numbers to claim. Only the installer's own workmanship and structure warranty is lost.

Can another company service a system it did not install?

Yes, and it is routine. Bridgeway services 1,300+ rooftops, including plants installed by other EPCs. The takeover starts with a condition audit so responsibility for pre-existing faults is documented before we sign an AMC.

My subsidy was never credited and the installer is gone. Can it still be claimed?

Sometimes. It depends on whether the claim was ever filed on the national portal and whether the DISCOM inspection was completed. We check the application status against the portal and the DISCOM record before telling you whether it is recoverable — no promises until that is verified.

How much does it cost to take over an abandoned solar system?

The audit is a fixed visit charge. Repairs are quoted from the condition report — most orphaned systems in NCR need monitoring reconnection, earthing correction and a cleaning cycle rather than major hardware replacement.

My generation dropped by half. Is it dirty panels or a fault?

Soiling typically costs 8–15% in Delhi NCR, not 50%. A halving usually means one string is disconnected, an MPPT channel has failed, or the inverter is derating. That needs a meter, not a mop.