Production guarantee

What a production guarantee is

There are two guarantees that sound alike and are not. The manufacturer’s says the panel will retain a certain percentage of its rated power in each year (usually up to 25 years): it covers the equipment’s degradation, not what your roof produces. The installer’s or provider’s says the system, installed on your home, will produce a number of kWh per year, and defines what happens if it does not.

The second is the one that matters for your bill. And it raises three questions: how it is measured (inverter monitoring or the utility bill), over what period (monthly or annual), and what is paid if it falls short (a set amount per missing kWh, or nothing).

Why it matters in Florida

A system facing the wrong way, in shade, or undersized produces less than promised, and nobody notices until the August bill comes in high. With an annual guarantee, a short summer is offset by a long winter and the provider owes nothing even though you paid full-rate kWh during the hot months. That is why E-Minded’s Minimum Bill Guarantee is measured month by month.

Many production guarantees also carry broad exclusions: snow (irrelevant here), new shade, soiling, “abnormal weather conditions.” With the rainy season and hurricanes, those exclusions can hollow out the guarantee.

Common mistake

Reading “25-year production guarantee” and assuming it covers your savings. That is usually the manufacturer’s. Ask: “Who pays me, how much, and how often if the system produces less than this proposal says?” and have the answer written into the contract. How to read these clauses is in how to read a solar proposal.