Your Solar Installer Went Out of Business - Who Services the Panels Now?
Panels on the roof, financing still being paid, and the company that installed the system no longer answering the phone. Here is how to sort out what you still have.
By CRE Roofing, Warr Acres OK · Oklahoma roofing registration #80007347
A lot of Oklahoma homeowners are in the same position right now: panels on the roof, a financing agreement still being paid, and the company that sold and installed the system no longer answering the phone. Nothing is technically broken, which is exactly why it gets ignored - until the roof underneath needs work, or a panel stops producing, and there is nobody to call.
Your warranties did not die with the installer
Solar warranties come in layers, and they do not all belong to the same company:
- The panel warranty is from the panel manufacturer. It survives the installer going away. Find the make and model - it is on the label on the back of a panel, on your original paperwork, or in the monitoring app.
- The inverter warranty is from the inverter manufacturer, same situation. This is the one that matters most in practice, because inverters are the component most likely to need replacing first.
- The workmanship or installation warranty is from the installer. This is the layer that genuinely goes away when they do - it typically covers the mounting, the penetrations, and roof leaks caused by the install.
- The production guarantee, if you had one, was usually the installer's too.
Manufacturer warranties normally need a licensed installer to perform the work and file the claim. So the honest summary is: you probably still have parts coverage and almost certainly lost labor coverage, and you need a contractor willing to take the system on.
Find out whether the system is actually still working
Systems in this situation are frequently underperforming without anyone knowing, because the monitoring account was set up by a company that no longer exists.
Check whether you can still log into the monitoring portal. If the login was the installer's rather than yours, most inverter manufacturers will re-issue owner access directly - that is worth doing regardless. Then compare current production to the same month a year or two ago. A quiet decline is common and is usually a failed optimizer, a tripped string, or soiling, all of which are fixable. If there is no monitoring at all, a production check and a visual inspection will tell you where you stand.
The roof is where this becomes urgent
Most Oklahoma solar arrays are mounted to an asphalt shingle roof. Those roofs get replaced - and in this state they frequently get replaced early, after hail.
When that happens the panels have to come off and go back on. That is a detach and reset, and it is a job that sits exactly on the line between two trades. A roofer who does not do solar will not touch the array. A solar company that does not roof will not touch the deck. Homeowners in that position end up coordinating two contractors who each blame the other for anything that goes wrong afterward, and the roof penetrations are precisely where that shows up. An orphaned system makes this worse, because there is no installer of record to hand the array back to.
What to do now, in order
- Locate the panel and inverter makes and models, and the original paperwork.
- Take ownership of the monitoring login directly with the inverter manufacturer.
- Get a production check and a visual inspection of the mounting and penetrations.
- Find out how much roof life is left underneath the array, before hail decides for you.
- Keep the financing paperwork separate in your mind from the equipment - the loan or lease terms are unaffected by the installer's status, and that is a conversation with the finance company, not the contractor.
One note on timing: the 30 percent federal residential clean energy credit ended for systems placed in service after December 31, 2025, so a decision to add or replace equipment today is a different math problem than it was for the original purchase. More at what changed for solar in 2026.
One contractor for both halves
CRE Roofing does roofing and solar under one company, which means a detach and reset is one scope, one crew coordinating it, and one contractor responsible for the penetrations afterward. We de-energize, remove, store, replace the roof, remount and recommission.
Free inspection for Oklahoma City metro homeowners: (405) 234-7929. More at solar panel detach and reset and solar maintenance.
Common questions
Is my solar warranty void if the installer went out of business?
The panel and inverter manufacturer warranties survive - they are from the manufacturer, not the installer. The workmanship warranty, which covers the mounting and any roof leaks from the installation, generally does not. Manufacturer claims usually have to be filed by a licensed installer, so you still need a contractor willing to service the system.
Who takes the panels off when I need a new roof?
A contractor who does both roofing and solar can handle it as a single detach and reset. Splitting it between a roofer and a separate solar company works, but it leaves nobody clearly responsible for the roof penetrations afterward.
How do I know if my orphaned system is still producing properly?
Get owner-level access to the monitoring portal directly from the inverter manufacturer, then compare this month's production against the same month in prior years. A steady decline usually points to a failed optimizer, a tripped string, or soiling rather than a dead system.
Get a straight answer about your roof.
A free, no-obligation inspection from a CRE Roofing crew member, with photos of whatever we find and a plain-language explanation of your options.