Inverters Don’t Stick To The Script: Neither Should Customer Support

Modern solar power systems are becoming complex beasts, so it’s more important than ever that you have the best possible support behind the product you buy. Read on as we share a masterclass in customer service from Fronius.

I’ll be honest and say I’ve had no cause to ring Fronius lately, but as an installer I’ve always found them good.

Fronius were the first on my phone to have an app where you could register a warranty failure and get a new unit underway without having to speak to a human. However, there was always someone available on the phone when you had a peculiar problem, an unlisted fault code or needed help setting up your first Gen24 unit.

I know this Fronius representative, he’s often logging on and fixing things well beyond normal working hours. Names have been blurred to protect the guilty because I’d hate to see him tagged to death outside the normal support channels.

No Product Is Perfect

Of course, there will always be faulty machines from time to time. You find that out when installing thousands of them.

Years ago my former employer was selling many Omnik inverters and was approached to be the local service agent for them. The factory offered enough extra stock to replace 2% of what we sold, as that’s what their own durability testing said the failure rates were.

In reality, they struggled when loaded up to maximum capacity. With parallel arrays we could roast them in an Australian summer because there was no fan cooling. Connecting arrays in series would lessen the heat, but then they’d pop on cold winter days when the voltage climbed too high.

They wouldn’t give us 5%, so there was no deal. Thankfully, my own Omnik blew up just outside of its 5-year warranty, teaching me not to buy cheap crap from my mates and giving me the opportunity to use Fronius instead.

Even the managing director for one of Fronius’ major competitors recognises good service when he sees it.

Ask Your Installer; Have They Processed A Warranty Claim?

I’ve had one Fronius suffer a literal meltdown: we found melted metal solidified in the bottom of the case. Another went off with a bang when the DC cables on the roof were shorted to earth with a screw. The former was an illegitimate warranty claim, but neither posed any problem to get fixed.

Many of the Fronius units I’ve replaced simply had water ingress problems from poor installation methods, back when all the cool kids put DC conduits straight into the back for a seamless look and the rules didn’t prohibit it.

I’ve certainly never heard of a systemic fault with a particular model of Fronius, unlike the 5kW Growatt which ran to a 350% failure rate on one of my jobs. Or the running industry joke that was SolarEdge and their standard response of “highly unusual” when presented with yet another blown HD Wave unit.

Companies pretending there’s no problem really winds people up when the evidence is staring them in the face.

Some Support Could Be Improved

All tech support needs patience. Many of the “technicians” are I think just call centre employees, maybe graduate engineers. They strike me as people with a technical script but no lived experience.

There have to be entry-level jobs like this, but it’s also a place you should find people with lots of experience. Attracting the trades who are too worn down or injured to lift panels up a ladder should be a no-brainer.

The hours you can waste on the phone can be highly frustrating.

Tech Support Needs Two Tiers

• Tier 1 suits a first-time installer or the numpty who hasn’t read the instructions. For them, a call centre operator with a script is fine. They’ll likely sort out simple things, offer new procedures with new models, or they’ll be able to get answers if it’s a genuinely technical problem. I think manufacturers would like you to use an FAQ website for this level of support, or a commissioning app with a help section. Some of the better companies run WhatsApp and Facebook groups, where installers can help each other with basic questions.

• Tier 2 should be advanced-level tech support. This needs to be staffed by well-qualified engineers or knowledgeable trades who can speak electrical jargon to experienced installers. As one of my air conditioning mates said, “I enjoy your calls, the problems are actually interesting.”

Yes; Yes I’ve Done That!

Where I’ve found support most frustrating is having a good idea something is wrong. You’ve done all the diagnosing, testing and firmware updates you possibly can, so you ring up tech support looking for answers, and they keep telling you to go back and check what you’ve already done.

If they’re not listening to what you say, and just reading a script, it gets so frustrating and then people start swearing at each other.

As my manager once said, when he worked for an Internet Service Provider and had an issue, he wanted an option 9 on the phone keypad, a button you could push that said;

“Yes, I’ve done the basic things, now put me through to someone who knows what I’m talking about!”

Which Inverter Has The Best Support?

The feedback I’ve seen lately includes examples good and bad:

• Solis has a great reputation despite its budget market position.
• Growatt is reportedly improving, but its position leaves it exposed to cheap installers who offer poor support. Growatt’s official installer social media account recently alerted me to a significant change in warranty and technical support. Their old email inbox closed on 12th February, and it is perhaps typical of Growatt that this post went out 5 days afterward.
• Sungrow is both brilliant and dismal. As an electrician using the tools and asking questions about a 3-phase smart meter, I found the images ambiguous and tiny text difficult to read in the printed instructions. The answers I sought on the phone were also contradictory depending on how I asked the question. I’m pleased to report that Sungrow’s support has been stellar recently, even though I’ve thrown a bomb or two at them.
• SolarEdge are a pain in the arse according to installers, but SolarEdge themselves swear they’re doing better.
• GoodWe are trying hard, but may be difficult to raise on the phone sometimes.
• Enphase support is great in my experience. They answer the phone in minutes and email me back inside half an hour, but that could be down to having the right address.
• Tesla has waned from good to ordinary as I understand the current situation.
• Selectronic has brilliant people working for them, but like the wider industry, they’re short-staffed, so there can be delays.

For Your Installer, Less Is More

The best-organised companies I know limit the amount of stuff they sell. You could argue the incredible success of Penrith Solar is in no small part down to them using nothing but Enphase.¹

When long term retailer Suntrix sadly closed down, they had a laundry list of suppliers to refer warranty to. It would be impossible to be across all the ins and outs of a dozen inverter brands.

When you have to train staff, it pays to know a product well. Being across the foibles helps speed installation & problem-solving. It also helps cement relationships with the OEM suppliers. You can minimise the need for support calls and maximise the attention they pay when a problem does crop up.

For a firsthand look at how happy (or completely enraged) customers are with their inverter support, take a look at our inverter reviews.  For more on what else to look out for, take a look at our comprehensive guide on all things inverters.