October 18, 2024 Update — Since the announcement in August, SunPower has been working through its Chapter 11 filing in bankruptcy courts to determine next steps for things like warranty claims for existing customers.
We are pleased to share that we’ve been informed that the underlying manufacturers of most of the SunPower products — Maxeon, for the solar panels, and Enphase, for the inverters — will provide warranty support. If you need to make a warranty claim, you may contact Freedom Solar directly and we will help facilitate.
Due to ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, we anticipate that SunPower’s solar monitoring service and the mySunPower app may stop functioning at some point in the future if no third-party purchases this service through the ongoing SunPower bankruptcy proceedings. Freedom Solar has sent a letter to SunPower demanding that they cover their warranty and provide ongoing monitoring for our customers; unfortunately, however, we do not anticipate any positive resolution on these issues.
If you are concerned about losing monitoring access in the short-term, Enphase offers a monitoring platform and mobile app that can seamlessly integrate with your SunPower system. Right now there is a cost of $699 plus tax to install this on your system. We have looked into what other options are available in the marketplace for solar monitoring, and have found that the Enphase cost is the going rate for these types of products, and we are confident that Enphase is a high-quality product. Freedom Solar is not financially associated with EnPhase and does not benefit in any way from the sale of these products.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to take action right away, if your solar is functioning properly. It is up to you if and when you decide to add Enphase or other monitoring. You might also want to consider whether you will add any backup batteries to your solar system in the future, as the Tesla app allows for solar output monitoring. The only thing it does not incorporate is solar panel-level monitoring.
Note that the Enphase monitoring will not talk directly to your battery storage system, meaning if you have a Tesla Powerwall, you will need to continue using the Tesla app for any battery management needs and the Enphase app for your solar energy monitoring. If you have non-Enphase batteries, you can keep informed of their options at enphase.com/support/sunpower.
If you would like to learn more about connecting your system to Enphase monitoring, email [email protected], call 510-945-6752, or read their FAQs at https://enphase.com/support/sunpower/system-owners.
Freedom Solar will keep you updated as it becomes aware of developments with the current SunPower monitoring service.
We know the SunPower news has created a lot of uncertainty, and we’re navigating these challenges alongside you. Please let us know if you have any concerns at this time. Our team is receiving a large number of calls related to this, and response times will likely be slower than usual, but we are working hard to get the answers needed and appreciate your patience.
Original Post on August 6, 2024 — We are deeply saddened to hear the news today of SunPower’s Chapter 11 filing. As a long-time supplier of ours, we have many peers and friends who are impacted by this news. We are grateful to SunPower and wish their team the best as they navigate this difficult time.
Many of our customers will want to know what this means for them – we at Freedom Solar Power are here for our current and future customers and are stable for continued service and growth. We expect that any existing active warranties in place will be covered by a pass-through to the manufacturer associated with your home’s solar solution, so there should be no warranty impact to our customers.
The future of solar energy remains incredibly strong, and our company is built to withstand these challenges. We are here for you and we remain committed to providing world-class service to our customers every step of the way. For any specific customer inquiries, please review our FAQs on this situation, or feel free to contact our Customer Care team at [email protected] or 1 (833) 500-0014. For media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
Thank you for your business and your trust,
Bret Biggart
CEO, Freedom Solar Power
Frequently Asked Questions
How does the SunPower news impact Freedom Solar Power?
Freedom Solar Power is and has always been a separate entity from SunPower. We remain one of the strongest players in the solar sales, installation, and service industry, and are here to continue taking care of our customers and their solar energy needs, every step of the way.
Even though we don’t expect this news to impact our operations or our customers, we’re still saddened by it. SunPower has been a supplier to us for many years, and their Maxeon panels and Enphase inverter technology and equipment are considered among the best in the industry and have proven to be of the highest quality, standing up to our incredibly strict standards.
Is Freedom Solar going bankrupt / entering Chapter 11?
No. Freedom Solar is one of the strongest players in the solar sales, installation, and service industry. The company has no reason or intention to consider a bankruptcy filing. Freedom Solar is a privately held, founder-led, locally owned company since 2007.
With SunPower out of business, what happens to my warranty?
Freedom Solar’s workmanship warranty will remain in place for the 25-year lifetime of your solar panel system.
For a period of time post-bankruptcy filing, it was unclear whether customers would have any warranty protection for their equipment. Very recently, however, we’ve been informed that the underlying manufacturers of most of our products — Maxeon, for the solar panels, and Enphase, for the inverters — will provide warranty support. Should you need service or to submit a warranty claim on your solar system, contact [email protected] and we will facilitate.
Finally, rest assured that both Maxeon panels and Enphase inverter technology and equipment are considered among the best in the industry and have proven to be of the highest quality, standing up to the test of time and degradation.
I have Mission Solar Panels. Will I be impacted by the SunPower bankruptcy?
Not at all. Mission Solar is unrelated to SunPower. Your 25-year workmanship warranty from Freedom Solar and 25-year product warranty from Mission Solar will continue to be honored.
I have REC Solar Panels. Will I be impacted by the SunPower bankruptcy?
No, you will not be impacted. We have been assured by REC that they will honor the warranty as the original equipment manufacturer.
I have Waaree Solar Panels. Will I be impacted by the SunPower bankruptcy?
If you purchased SunPower U-Series, manufactured by Waaree, your panels fall under theSunPower product and power warranty and Freedom Solar’s 25-year workmanship warranty.
Your Freedom Solar workmanship warranty will continue to be honored, but, at this time, it appears that neither SunPower nor Waaree will honor the product and service warranties. We are continuing to look into this for our customers.
I have Enphase Inverters. Will these be impacted by the SunPower bankruptcy?
No, we don’t expect them to be impacted. Enphase has announced publicly that they will honor the terms of the product warranty for Enphase microinverters used in SunPower solar systems. You can read more about this here.
I have SolarBridge inverters (aka Generation 3). Do I have a warranty through SolarBridge? Is Enphase backing this warranty?
Unfortunately, to our knowledge, there is no manufacturer’s warranty coverage for SolarBridge (or Gen 3) inverters.
In 2018, Enphase acquired the assets of SolarBridge Technologies from SunPower. Based on how the sale was structured, Enphase acquired the assets of SolarBridge, but not its liabilities (including its customer warranty obligations).
Until its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, SunPower provided a warranty for this product. Following the bankruptcy filing, Enphase has told us that it will honor product warranties for products it manufactured, but not for products manufactured by SolarBridge. We have advocated for our customers by asking Enphase to honor this warranty, but have thus far been unsuccessful.
We recommend that you reach out directly to Enphase directly at [email protected].
I have SolarBridge microinverter(s) down, which is negatively impacting my production. What are my options?
SolarBridge microinverters are no longer available for purchase, unfortunately. We can offer you two options:
- Replace the non-working SolarBridge microinverters with Enphase microinverters.
- This will restore power to the affected panels.
- We’ll also install Enphase monitoring for the new microinverters, but any working SolarBridge inverters will stay on SunPower monitoring as long as it’s active.
- Replace all SolarBridge microinverters with Enphase microinverters.
- This eliminates future issues with failing SolarBridge units and avoids needing more replacements later.
- All panels would then run on Enphase monitoring.
Leaving the broken SolarBridge microinverters as-is will result in those panels not producing any power. For the best performance, we recommend replacing any failed units to ensure your system runs at full capacity.
I have SunPower Monitoring (or PVS Monitoring). What happens to my production monitoring? Who will handle my production monitoring?
Due to ongoing bankruptcy proceedings, we anticipate that SunPower’s solar monitoring service and the mySunPower app may stop functioning at some point in the future if no third-party purchases this service through the ongoing SunPower bankruptcy proceedings. Freedom Solar has sent a letter to SunPower demanding that they cover their warranty and provide ongoing monitoring for our customers; unfortunately, however, we do not anticipate any positive resolution on these issues.
If you are concerned about losing monitoring access in the short-term, Enphase offers a monitoring platform and mobile app that can seamlessly integrate with your SunPower system. Right now there is a cost of $699 plus tax to install this on your system. We have looked into what other options are available in the marketplace for solar monitoring, and have found that the Enphase cost is the going rate for these types of products, and we are confident that Enphase is a high-quality product. Freedom Solar is not financially associated with EnPhase and does not benefit in any way from the sale of these products.
Keep in mind that you don’t have to take action right away, if your solar is functioning properly. It is up to you if and when you decide to add Enphase or other monitoring. You might also want to consider whether you will add any backup batteries to your solar system in the future, as the Tesla app allows for solar output monitoring. The only thing it does not incorporate is solar panel-level monitoring.
Note that the Enphase monitoring will not talk directly to your battery storage system, meaning if you have a Tesla Powerwall, you will need to continue using the Tesla app for any battery management needs and the Enphase app for your solar energy monitoring. If you have non-Enphase batteries, you can keep informed of their options at enphase.com/support/sunpower.
If you would like to learn more about connecting your system to Enphase monitoring, email [email protected], call 510-945-6752, or read their FAQs at https://enphase.com/support/sunpower/system-owners.
Freedom Solar will keep you updated as it becomes aware of developments with the current SunPower monitoring service.