My solar panels aren't producing and the installer is gone: what to do

If your panels are not producing and the installer does not answer, the path is: confirm with your electric bill that there really is no production, check the inverter and breaker from the ground, figure out who owns the system and the inverter, and file with the manufacturer, whose warranty is still alive even though the installer closed. What you lost is the workmanship warranty; everything else can be recovered.

Why are there so many orphaned systems in Florida?

Because the industry grew on door-to-door sales and financing, and when interest rates rose, many companies closed and left their customers without support. GreenLancer documents that Titan Solar Power ceased operations in June 2024 and SunPower filed for bankruptcy in August 2024, among others. Every closure leaves installed systems with nobody to answer, monitoring apps that stop working and workmanship warranties that evaporate.

You are right to distrust whoever sold you the system and whoever is now calling to “check on it.” But the system on your roof can almost always be fixed, and you do not need the original installer to fix it.

Step 1: Is it producing or not? Look at the bill

The electric bill is the proof that depends on nobody. FPL, Duke and TECO show the kWh your home delivered to the grid during the period. In a sunny month, a normal residential system sends surplus almost every day. If that number is zero or near zero, the system is not producing. If it is normal but your bill is still high, the problem is usage or rate, not the panels; read how much solar really saves.

Compare against the proposal too: if it estimated 1,200 kWh in July and you produced 700, there is a partial problem (shade, a dead string, a broken panel). Panels degrade about 0.5% a year per NREL; any larger drop is not “aging.”

Step 2: Ground-level diagnosis, no roof required

Four checks anyone can do without tools.

Do not open the inverter or touch connectors: there is DC voltage whenever there is light. If the inverter shows an error code, write it down or photograph it; it is the first thing the manufacturer will ask for.

In a string system, if the central inverter fails, everything reads zero; EnergySage notes a string inverter lasts 10-15 years, so in a system over 10 years old it is suspect number one. In a microinverter system, the norm is one fails and the rest keep going. See string inverters vs microinverters.

Step 3: Who owns the system and who owns the warranty?

Two different questions, and they decide who you call.

If you bought the system (cash or loan). The panels and inverter are yours. Manufacturer warranties remain valid even though the installer closed; EnergySage confirms it. Enphase offers 25 years on IQ8 microinverters; SolarEdge gives 12 years standard on the residential inverter. What you lost is the installer’s workmanship warranty (leaks, wiring, mounting).

If it is a lease or PPA. The owner is the finance company, not the installer. Even though the installer closed, the contract was almost always sold to another company that services it. Look at your statement for who bills you: that company is responsible for maintenance under your contract. Many leases carry a production guarantee; if the system underproduces, they must compensate or repair. Demand it in writing.

If it is a subscription. The owner repairs; it is part of the service. Call the subscription company, not the installer.

Step 4: Recover monitoring and documents

If the app was in the installer’s name, the manufacturer can transfer it. Enphase and SolarEdge have processes for the homeowner to claim the system using the address and the inverter’s serial number (on the equipment label). With your own access you will see which panel is failing and have evidence for the warranty.

Documents you can recover without the installer:

• Permit and plans: on your county’s permit portal, searching your address.
• Interconnection agreement and PTO: in your utility account or by calling them.
• Warranties: on the manufacturer’s site with the serial number.
• Contract and financing: from the bank or the company that bills you.

Heads up: after a closure, companies start calling with a “free inspection,” a “system upgrade” or an offer to “handle the warranty claim for you,” and they end up selling a new inverter, a battery or a refinance. Before accepting any visit, do steps 1 through 3 yourself. If the inverter is under warranty, the manufacturer replaces it at no cost for the part; an out-of-warranty replacement runs $350 to $3,500 for the unit per Angi, plus labor. With those numbers in hand, nobody sells you a new system over a tripped breaker.

Step 5: Find someone to repair it

Start with the inverter manufacturer, not Google. EnergySage recommends asking the manufacturer for its list of certified installers in your area: using a non-certified one can void the warranty. Before hiring, verify the contractor’s license on Florida’s Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) portal and ask for a fixed, written price for the diagnostic visit.

A well-diagnosed orphaned system usually needs one of three things: an inverter or microinverter replaced under warranty, a breaker or connector repaired, or a broken panel swapped. None of those justifies a new system.

When it does NOT make sense

• Stopping loan payments because the system isn’t producing: the loan is with the bank, not the installer, and the bank collects regardless. File with the manufacturer and, if there is a breach of contract, get legal advice, but do not stop paying on impulse.
• Accepting a “new system” or a battery as the fix for an inverter under warranty.
• Hiring the first company that calls without verifying the license or getting a fixed price.
• Climbing the roof to “see what’s going on”: DC voltage, fragile tiles and falls; it is a technician’s job.

What to check before you decide

• Pull your last 3 bills and note the kWh delivered to the grid month by month: that is your evidence.
• Photograph the inverter (lights, screen, error code) and the system breaker.
• Write down the make, model and serial number of the inverter and of one panel; they are on the labels.
• Identify who owns the system (you, a bank, a leasing company) and who bills you.
• Call the inverter manufacturer before any “service company” that contacts you.