Solar inverter offline? What a replacement involves and costs

If your solar inverter is offline, first confirm it in daylight and on your NV Energy bill, because a silent app is not proof. If it has failed, the replacement cost depends on five things: the inverter type, whether the same model still exists, what the warranty pays for, the wiring and permit work, and whether the job touches your net metering rate. We quote it in writing after a diagnosis, not before.

Here is how to work through each of those yourself first.

Step one: is it really the inverter?

The inverter is the box that turns what the panels make into the electricity your house uses. It is usually in the garage or on the outside wall near the meter. It is the only part of the system with hard working electronics in it, which is why it is the first thing to check.

In daylight, look at it:

• A running light, usually green. It is producing. The problem is somewhere else, often the monitoring.
• Nothing lit at all. It is not producing. Check that its AC disconnect and its breaker in the main panel are on before assuming it has failed.
• A red or amber light, or a code on a small display. It has faulted. Photograph the code exactly as shown.

Then check your NV Energy bill. If exported energy has dropped to nothing, or to a fraction of the same month last year, the system really has stopped. How to find out if your system still works sets out the full check, and your app says one number and NV Energy says another explains why a monitoring app going dark is not the same as a dead inverter.

Do not open the inverter or touch the wiring. Panels send live direct current down from the roof whenever the sun is on them, even when the rest of the system is off.

Step two: write down what you have

Take a photo of the label on the side of the unit. You need the make, the model and the serial number. That one photo decides most of what follows, because it tells you:

• Which kind of inverter it is. A single string inverter on the wall, or microinverters mounted under each panel on the roof, with a gateway box in the garage.
• Which warranty applies, and whether it is still running.
• Whether the same model is still made, or whether a replacement will be a different unit that needs different mounting or wiring.

The five things that decide the cost

We do not publish a flat price for an inverter replacement, because the same fault can be a small job on one house and a much larger one on the next. These are the reasons.

1. The type of inverter

A string inverter is one box on a wall, usually reachable from the ground. A failed microinverter sits under a panel on the roof, so replacing it means lifting that panel. A roof job takes more labour and more care than a wall job.

2. Whether the same model still exists

If the same or a directly compatible model is available, the swap is close to like for like. If it is discontinued, the replacement may be a different size, need a different mounting bracket, or need different wiring or a different monitoring connection. Each of those adds work.

3. What the warranty pays for, and what it does not

This is the one most people get wrong. A product warranty usually covers the part, not the labour to change it.

As one published example, the Enphase Energy System Limited Warranty for the US and Canada, updated September 27 2023 and covering products activated on or after April 1 2023, lists 25 years from the activation date for its IQ8 microinverters. The same document says the warranty "does not include any cost of labor" to uninstall the product, to reinstall a repaired or replacement product, or to remove, install or troubleshoot the owner's electrical systems. The claim runs through a return procedure: the maker issues a return number, the failed unit goes back, and the replacement ships to you or to the installer you authorise.

So a covered failure can still carry a labour bill. Read your own warranty for your own model; other makers set their own terms.

For systems sold under a Nevada purchase agreement, NRS 598.9821 requires a written warranty of not less than 7 years on inverters, parts and labour, either from the installing company or passed through from the manufacturer. That section was added to Nevada law in 2017, so a system sold before then is governed by what its own contract says. If your installer has closed, your solar company went out of business explains which of those promises survives it.

4. The wiring, the permit and NV Energy

A replacement that goes back exactly where the old one was is the simplest case. A different unit can mean new conduit, a new disconnect, or updated plans. NV Energy's interconnection handbook, revision dated 10/16/2025, requires inverters on the California Energy Commission's approved equipment list, UL listed equipment, and interconnection work by a Nevada licensed C-2 or C-2g electrical contractor. Check the licence on the Nevada State Contractors Board search page before anyone starts.

5. Whether the job touches your net metering rate

This is the one that can cost you for years rather than once.

The same handbook says a system replacement "may allow a customer to keep their existing closed net metering rate", naming NMR G, NMR A and NMR-405 Tiers 1 to 3, and that every replacement application goes through Engineering Review. Adding generating capacity is different: it results in a rate change if you are not already on the current rate.

So if a proposal replaces your inverter and adds panels, stop and ask which rate you will be on afterwards. What 75 percent of retail actually costs you shows how to price the difference.

Repair, replace, or add a battery at the same time

If the inverter has failed and you were already thinking about a battery, make the two decisions together. Some batteries include their own inverter, and a failed string inverter is the one moment when a battery with a built in inverter can replace it rather than sit beside it. The trade off is the paperwork: a design that swaps the inverter should be confirmed in writing as a replacement plus storage, not a capacity expansion. Adding a battery to solar you already have covers the choice.

What to have ready before you call anyone

1. A photo of the inverter label: make, model and serial number.
2. A photo of any light or fault code.
3. The month the exports on your NV Energy bill changed.
4. The warranty page from your contract, and the name of whoever installed the system.

If someone knocks on your door offering to take over your old installer's warranty and replace your inverter, read someone knocked and said they are taking over your warranty first.

We diagnose existing systems whoever installed them, start any manufacturer claim that is still open, and quote the replacement in writing once we know what failed. If the answer is a reset rather than a replacement, we will tell you that too.

We recheck this page quarterly. Last checked 2026-09-28. If a number here has moved, tell us and we will fix it the same week.