The Risk With Buying Solar Panels From Amazon

Everyone knows that saving money on your electric bill is one of the biggest pros of solar panels. Conversely, the high entry cost is what keeps most people from converting to renewable energy. Plainly put, solar panels can get very expensive. Manufacturers sell a single unit for hundreds or even thousands of dollars, and you'll need more than a few if you want to power your entire home. The prices quickly add up, making solar panels very expensive. But, interestingly enough, Amazon could be the solution.  

The online retailer is the go-to shopping destination for countless people worldwide, and there's a good reason for that. Not only can you find just about anything on the website, but generally, their prices are drastically lower than competitors, whether you're shopping for motor oil, 4K TVs, or groceries. And that sentiment carries over to the solar panels they have available. 

A quick Amazon search provides a list of panels for under $200 a piece, with many sub-$100 options. They even carry some of the best brands like SunPower Solar Panels. But, just because they have affordable options doesn't mean you should run to order them, as there are some considerable risks with buying solar panels from Amazon.

Whenever you buy anything on Amazon, you run the risk of receiving a poorly-made product. However, the online retailer's solar panels may take that to an entirely different level. In September of 2022, CNBC reported that Amazon took all of its warehouse solar panel rooftops offline because they kept catching on fire. The incidents began on April 14, 2020, when an "electrical event" occurred inside the solar system on the rooftop of a Fresno warehouse, causing a fire that damaged solar panels and other equipment. 

A year later, another fire happened, this time at a warehouse in Maryland. Within the following months, four more fires occurred at various Amazon fulfillment centers, all because of solar panel failures. An internal audit later revealed over 200 major problems with the systems, including mismatched connectors and water damage. Amazon blamed third-party partners and vendors for most of the problems.

So then, you may ask, what's the problem with the solar panels available on Amazon? Well, the vast majority of products on the online storefront come from third-party partners and vendors. If Amazon was getting solar panels from the same sources that they promote to customers, what's to stop a similar event from occurring on your home's roof? We're not saying all solar panels on Amazon are guaranteed to catch fire, but it's certainly a risk to consider when buying.

If you happen to get one of these poorly-made solar panels from Amazon, you might not have a warranty to protect your purchase. Despite not being an authorized platform, the online retailer is a popular destination for resellers, with plenty of name-brand products being sold and shipped from secondhand sources. This is especially common with tech products like solar panels, with unknown third parties buying defective items, refurbishing them, and reselling them for profit.

Although this doesn't necessarily mean you'll receive a defective product, manufacturer warranties don't transfer between recipients. If you unknowingly buy a refurbished item on Amazon, the original manufacturer won't honor the warranty because you purchased it through a reseller, not them. On their customer service page, Amazon states that not every product comes with a manufacturer warranty, with factors like purchase location and who sold it determining whether it has a warranty.

Thankfully, Amazon has systems in place to refund and replace defective products. However, if you need support for a specific product, like a solar panel, or questions about a warranty, the company will tell you to contact the seller directly. And if that's an unknown third party, you'll be better off just getting a refund and buying a new product.