Question: We had our photovoltaic installed on our roof about four years ago. We purchased the system from Bonterra. Recently we heard that the company had gone out of business. My attempt to contact them through phone or online was unsuccessful. My question, if you can help: I would like to find out if any other company is taking over for Bonterra and who might I contact for service. We were supposed to have a 20-year warranty.
Answer: Bonterra Solar, once among Hawaii’s fastest-growing solar energy companies, folded in 2016 — “collateral damage,” as co-founder Andrew Yani put it, of the state Public Utilities Commission’s decision to cap the popular net energy metering (NEM) program, which credits customers with the full retail value of excess energy their rooftop solar systems send back to Hawaiian Electric’s power grid.
Bonterra did not arrange for any other solar contractor to adopt its customers, so any warranty you held directly with the company died with it. (Bonterra promoted a 10-year warranty for workmanship, promising to correct any installation errors by its crews.)
However, a manufacturer’s warranty might still apply, if your problem is due to a product defect. Yani referred questions about parts to Inter-Island Solar Supply, a long-standing renewable-energy equipment distributor in Hawaii that supplied Bonterra solar systems.
Inter-Island Solar Supply is a wholesaler that generally deals directly with contractors, not individual residential customers. Still, we reached out to company president Rick Reed, who provided information we hope helps you and other solar orphans (Bonterra is one of several Hawaii solar companies to go under in the past few years).
Reed said your first step should be to hire a licensed electrical contractor to check your solar system and determine the source of the problem. “Don’t mess around with electrical. There are a lot of different components in these systems. The first thing is to find out — safely — what’s wrong,” he said.
You can get a referral for a contractor from the Hawaii Solar Energy Association, a nonprofit advocacy group that includes photovoltaic installers. Go to hsea.org and click on “Member List” under the Membership tab. Reed, who also is president of the association, said you also could call Inter-Island Solar for recommendations. The number is 523-0711 in Honolulu.
If a flaw in a covered product caused the problem, the manufacturer’s warranty should apply, even though the original installer has gone out of business, he said. However, you’re still facing some out-of-pocket expense, for the initial inspection. Be sure to have the records of your purchase at hand so you can verify any product warranty.
The HSEA website also is a good place to start looking for a company to maintain your system; ask how long the company has done business in Hawaii and how it has adapted to life after NEM.
Existing NEM customers were grandfathered in when the PUC capped the program in 2015 without a public hearing, and continue to enjoy low monthly electrical bills. Consumers interested in adding photovoltaic systems now are limited to more costly options.
Mahalo
On Tuesday I went to the Aloha gas station on 10th Avenue. My credit card was denied, so I tried again, but it was still denied. I noticed a man helping a lady fill gas in her food truck, so I asked him if he works at this station. He said no. I decided to leave. But he came to help me soon after he helped the lady. He patiently talked me through the steps of using my credit card. I want to thank this well-dressed young man in a white sedan for assisting me. Many mahalos and God bless him. — A senior citizen
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