RKCRLR
Active Member
I had a string inverter fail after two years and it was replaced under its 10 year warranty. It is now out of warranty and over 10 years old so I need to be ready to replace it.
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CPUC NEM 3.0 discussion
- Thread starter jjrandorin
- Start date
aesculus
Still Trying to Figure This All Out
I had a Fronius inverter fail 9 years into a 10 year standard warranty. They replaced it free of charge including shipping.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
Anecdotes are interesting but nothing you can use to make financial decisions.
Warranties cost money. Either the cost is built into the price or you pay extra.
Companies who sell warranties (either the seller or a third party) almost always overprice them because they want to make money.
So, in the long run, you will pay more for warranties than you receive in benefits. Most of the time much more.
That is why I don't value warranties.
Warranties cost money. Either the cost is built into the price or you pay extra.
Companies who sell warranties (either the seller or a third party) almost always overprice them because they want to make money.
So, in the long run, you will pay more for warranties than you receive in benefits. Most of the time much more.
That is why I don't value warranties.
Yes, warranties are essentially just an insurance policy. I also don't care for insurance, and only carry it where required or with deductibles that make it only effective for catastrophic events, but that's because I don't rely on it to continue living/working/etc. It is different for people with different means, responsibilities, and expectations.
Again, we are NOT talking about paying for extended warranties here and as you say, they are definitely built into the price. But when pricing is similar or not much different, is a 25 year warranty mostly worthless (your words) or is it possibly, just maybe better if someone is buying a similar item for about the same price.
Companies manufacturer things that may break right after warranty because that's financially how long they want to be on the hook for the item or when they reasonably expect it to fail.
There are normally many different factors as well making this comparison hard to perfectly compare, but they are not mostly worthless IMO. I've had enough say, HDs die at year 2, month 3 that yeah, it sucked that the warranty was 2 years, should've gone for that better drive (totally diff brand), etc...(or car, inverter).
Edit: An example maybe say, Dewalt tools vs. Milwaukee. 3 year vs. 5 year, usually around the same price, is that extra 2 years worthless?
I also generally never buy extended warranties, but I definitely look at a manufacturer's warranty when basing buying decisions for products.
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mspohr
Well-Known Member
Since this discussion seems to have some legs, I went back and found my order for the batteries which prompted the start of this discussion.
The batteries do come with a 5 year warranty (I still have 2 years left on it) and the company is still in business!
Here are the batteries (even cheaper now):
basen.en.alibaba.com
The batteries do come with a 5 year warranty (I still have 2 years left on it) and the company is still in business!
Here are the batteries (even cheaper now):
Shenzhen Basen Technology Co., Ltd. - LiFePO4 Cell/Energy Storage System/Solar Inverter/BMS/Battery Accessories
Shenzhen Basen Technology Co., Ltd., Experts in Manufacturing and Exporting LiFePO4 Cell/Energy Storage System/Solar Inverter/BMS/Battery Accessories and more other Products.
basen.en.alibaba.com
Well some of us have SolarEdge HD-Wave inverters which have crapped out. Mine died just shy of the 2 years and it was well after they had supposedly cleaned the pipeline of units that had "faulty" capacitors in them. It was replaced at no cost to me, but since I was still able to buy a 25 year extended warranty for $214 I did it without a second thought because the risk of a future failure is high for this family line.
RKCRLR
Active Member
Yes, manufacturer warranties are built into the price but I haven't seen they are trying to make money on the warranty. If anything they are just trying to break even. Aftermarket "warranties" (actually service contracts) are different where there is profit and additional overhead involved and the house always wins in the long run otherwise they wouldn't stay in business. I pay attention to manufacturer warranties but rarely purchase extended "warranties".
Are you confident they will actually honor the warranty if you need a replacement?Since this discussion seems to have some legs, I went back and found my order for the batteries which prompted the start of this discussion.
The batteries do come with a 5 year warranty (I still have 2 years left on it) and the company is still in business!
Here are the batteries (even cheaper now):
Shenzhen Basen Technology Co., Ltd. - LiFePO4 Cell/Energy Storage System/Solar Inverter/BMS/Battery Accessories
Shenzhen Basen Technology Co., Ltd., Experts in Manufacturing and Exporting LiFePO4 Cell/Energy Storage System/Solar Inverter/BMS/Battery Accessories and more other Products.
Shenzhen Basen & Docan Quotes
Thanks Sorry for the sarcasm, but if you wanted to research cells and vendors you are on the correct forum. Another common newby misconception is that putting the cells together and letting them sit for a week in some way "balances" the cells. Trust me, it might seem logical that it does, but...
diysolarforum.com
IMHO, aside from the often opaque/unresponsive seller communications, there are just too many horror stories with Alibaba/Aliexpress batteries to consider them as comparable alternatives to home batteries from the likes of Tesla, Enphase, etc. when it's often a $10K's purchase.
mspohr
Well-Known Member
15 kWh of these batteries is $1500 delivered.Are you confident they will actually honor the warranty if you need a replacement?
Shenzhen Basen & Docan Quotes
Thanks Sorry for the sarcasm, but if you wanted to research cells and vendors you are on the correct forum. Another common newby misconception is that putting the cells together and letting them sit for a week in some way "balances" the cells. Trust me, it might seem logical that it does, but...
IMHO, aside from the often opaque/unresponsive seller communications, there are just too many horror stories with Alibaba/Aliexpress batteries to consider them as comparable alternatives to home batteries from the likes of Tesla, Enphase, etc. when it's often a $10K's purchase.
Not much risk.
$1500 risk in this case, but from quickly browsing pretty much all threads on diysolar searching under Shenzhen Basen, every thread seems to sound like a prayer, good batch luck wish if you buy, if issues...you're screwed, no way to ship back (too heavy), no response, avoid Alex so and so, various complaints, vibe. I don't think outside of the real DIYers, this isn't a recipe for the majority of folks to bother with at all.
Anyone considering throwing $1500 and praying you get your stuff and end up with $0 value finds that not much risk?
Not to mention, there can be bad issues if someone was not knowledgeable on what to do (you can cause a fire), it's happened, etc....I know you're an engineer, but if you get 6 years worth of it and it's all gone to crap after, you're still out of $$ and have to waste it again rebuying more stuff.
This could be more your "hobby" so you don't care/find it fund, no risk, but again, a lot of folks just wants this crap to work and never have to deal with it.
just got this email from PG&E. What is this about? I thought NEM2 was already dead to new solar installs
Join us for a virtual webinar and Q&A where PG&E’s Interconnection and Distributed Generation experts will:
Join us for a virtual webinar and Q&A where PG&E’s Interconnection and Distributed Generation experts will:
- Provide an update on the Net Energy Metering 2 Aggregation (NEM2A) and Net Energy Metering 2 Virtual (NEM2V) sunset
- Discuss partial application next steps and program closure to new applicants starting February 15, 2024
- Answer questions regarding application deadlines, submission qualifications, and more
Those are both special cases, not normal residential interconnections. However, I'm surprised that they're still open at all.
California lawmakers backpedal on new electricity rates rule based on customer income
It’s a good time to contact your California representatives and ask them to fix AB 205 which will further decimate solar and make electricity exceedingly expensive for those who have already prepaid their electricity costs for the next decade via a solar investment.
Those who have enough solar and battery storage to rarely need the grid (soon to be many more as EV bidirectional charging becomes available) could soon be paying $50-80/ month just for the connection to the grid even if they import 0kwh (or be paying $50-80/kwh - 100x more, instead of $0.50/kwh if they use just 1 kWh).
It’s a good time to contact your California representatives and ask them to fix AB 205 which will further decimate solar and make electricity exceedingly expensive for those who have already prepaid their electricity costs for the next decade via a solar investment.
Those who have enough solar and battery storage to rarely need the grid (soon to be many more as EV bidirectional charging becomes available) could soon be paying $50-80/ month just for the connection to the grid even if they import 0kwh (or be paying $50-80/kwh - 100x more, instead of $0.50/kwh if they use just 1 kWh).
not unfair to have to pay to maintain the connection. Same as we all have to pay for our ev, not by the mile. Contrarian, not realistic. Then, maybe, new homes would not have to pay tens of thousands for a connection.
Yes, but everyone pays the same annual fee for the same EV (or actually for any EV). A fee to maintain the grid connection maybe is OK, but if one person pays 10X as much for the same 200A connection for his house as the person next door, with the same 200A connection and similar-sized house, just because of his income, is that fair?
Fair? Tax or quasi tax? Ha. We have had income based discounts for years. We tax certain earnings more than others. One state, make one cent too much, and the one can can cost you thousands.
If I followed correctly, the idea is to set the real cost evenly, then Charge higher earners to subsidize the lower earners. So one can think of the mid tier monthly as the fair, with the higher end paying for the lower end.
Our 200 ev registration tax is not fair either. We don’t drive enough to make it match what we would have paid in fuel tax. Those that drive more get subsidized by me.
Or consider prop 13. My neighbors prop tax monthly is more than my monthly pmt, tax, interest, and utilities. Fair? Nope.
People notice when things seem unfairly against them but also conveniently don't notice when things are stacked in their favor (also unfairly).
Humans are funny that way.
Humans are funny that way.
And it is reflected every time we vote. We vote our pockets. Those that run only do what their backers want, with a rare exception of what is actually good for the majority of those they represent. I am embarrassed, but I elect not to subject me and mine to the invasion of running for office.
I am for a monthly access fee because making the new connections fund what they have to is unsustainable. Even an adu gets hit with a non cost reflective connection fee.
RKCRLR
Active Member
I'd support a fixed monthly fee for the privilege of connecting to the grid but it should be based on the cost impact to the grid of your connection, not your income. And my wife and I are retired so we'd be better off with a connection fee based on income. And if that makes it too expensive for low income people then the subsidies should come from somewhere outside of the utility users. Better yet, get the cost of electricity under control in California so it is cheaper for everyone.
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