Output down about a third with no alarm
One string or one MPPT input offline. Nothing alarms because the system is still producing, which is why the year-on-year comparison matters.
Specialist Systems1,082 businesses licensed for it
Solar system repair and service
A commercial solar array quietly stops earning and nobody notices, because the only symptom is a number nobody checks. Work covers inverter faults and error codes, string and panel failures, monitoring and communication dropouts, roof penetration leaks, isolation and shutdown equipment, and cleaning where soiling has cut output. Check your production against the same month last year: that comparison finds more faults than any alert.
Enter your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with their phone numbers.
- Free to searchno account, nothing to submit
- Public registersevery listing names its source
- License numberswhere the state publishes one
- Directyou call the business yourself
- Our estimate
- $260-$9,000
- Time on site
- 2-12 hrs
- Fault patterns covered
- 2
- Licensed for this trade itself
- 1,082
What solar system repair and service costs
Most of these jobs land near $680. The full spread runs $260 to $9,000, and the gap between those two ends is diagnosis against replacement rather than one business being dearer than another.
What moves it: how much of the job is parts, whether the fault is found in the first hour or the third, access to the equipment, and the hour of the day you call. We never speak to the businesses listed here, so there is no rate card behind any of this. It is our own band for the category, and there is no regional index: the figure does not change with your metro.
| How soon you need it | Typical | Range |
|---|---|---|
| Scheduled visitBooked in advance, no urgency multiplier applied | $680 | $260 to $9,000 |
| Same dayOur band multiplied by 1.12 | $760 | $290 to $10,080 |
| Emergency calloutOur band multiplied by 1.35 | $920 | $350 to $12,150 |
Our estimate from national cost bands, not a quote from any business. Every row is the same band with the urgency multiplier the site applies everywhere else, so this table can never contradict the headline number. Ask for a written price before the work starts.
Who is licensed to do this work
In California the classification that squarely covers this is C-46 solar, and the register says who holds it. Every listing on this site shows the classification, the license number and the date we read it, with a link back to the register entry so you can check it against the state rather than against us.
Overlapping classifications exist and are labeled as overlapping rather than as a match: C-10 electrical. A general building contractor may hold the job and subcontract the trade, which is a real answer and a different one, so the card says which of the two you are looking at.
One thing worth being plain about: CSLB classifications do not distinguish commercial work from residential. There is no separate commercial license to hold and no register field that would prove one. That is why this page describes the equipment rather than the contractor, and why nothing here says a business has been checked out. We read a public record on a stated date. That is the whole claim.
Before you pay for a callout
Two minutes of checks that sometimes end the problem
We would rather you did not need a callout at all. These are the checks that end the most calls for this fault.
Try a quick fix first
Some issues resolve without a truck roll. Two minutes now can save the callout.
- 1
Compare this month's production to the same month last year rather than to last month. Seasonal variation hides a fault; a year-on-year comparison exposes it.
- 2
Photograph the inverter display and any error code. Manufacturers publish these and it decides whether this is a reset, a part or a warranty claim.
- 3
Check whether the system is still under warranty. Panels commonly carry long output warranties and inverters shorter ones, and a warranty claim goes to the installer rather than to a repair contractor.
- 4
If there is a roof leak near the array, get the roofer and the solar contractor to attend together. Neither one can properly close out a penetration alone.
What the visit actually includes
- Production check against expected output for the season
- Inverter diagnosis and fault code interpretation
- String testing to isolate underperforming sections
- Monitoring and communication restored
- Mounting and penetration inspection
Diagnosis
How solar faults usually present
Written from how these faults actually present on a working premises, not from a manual.
Inverter faults every hot afternoon
Thermal derating, often because the inverter is in an enclosed or sunlit space it was never meant to be in. Shading or relocating it fixes what looks like a failing unit.
Listed for this trade
Businesses listed for solar
Read from public license registers, so there is no ranking here and no distance: this page has no location to measure from. Enter your ZIP to sort by who is nearest to your site.
By location
Solar system repair and service near you
Local pages show which businesses are listed for that metro, how far out they sit, and the local conditions that drive demand.
Counted from the businesses we have imported for each metro center inside a 25 mile radius, and counting only those whose own license classification names this trade. General contractors licensed widely enough to take it on and subcontract it are excluded here, and still appear in a search. A metro reads “none yet” until we load a register that covers this trade there.
All coverage areasQuestions owners ask
Solar FAQs
Short, specific answers. If yours is not here, ask the business you call before you agree to the visit.
Who repairs solar if the installer has gone?
Any C-46 solar contractor can service an existing system, and many C-10 electrical contractors work on inverters too. Both are listed here from the state register.
Is cleaning worth paying for?
In a dusty or agricultural area, yes, and after a long dry spell. In a place with regular rain the gain rarely covers the cost, so ask for a production comparison rather than assuming.
Does solar work void my roof warranty?
It can, if the penetrations were not done to the roofing manufacturer's detail. Keep the original installation paperwork, because that is the document that settles it.
Related work
Often booked in the same visit
Batching jobs into one mobilization is the cheapest way to buy this kind of work.
Fire suppressionKitchen hood systems, sprinklers, extinguishers, annual certification and tags.from $180ElevatorStuck cars, doors that will not close, out-of-service lifts and annual certification.from $400Pest controlRodents, roaches, flies, exclusion work and the report a health inspector asks for.from $150Pool and spaCloudy water, failed pumps and heaters, chemical control and health inspection prep.from $220
Specialist Systems
Everything else in specialist systems
Read next
How to check a California contractor license before you hire
Three minutes on the state's own lookup, what the result does and does not prove, and the two questions to ask on the phone.
7 min read
Walk-in cooler not getting cold: what to check first
Five checks that take ten minutes, plus the three readings a refrigeration tech needs before loading the truck.
7 min read
The two rooftop HVAC visits a year that pay for themselves
A spring cooling check and a fall heating check cost $340 to $700, and they are what stand between you and a $9,000 unit replacement.
6 min read
Ready when you are
Need solar sorted?
Search your ZIP to see the businesses listed for this trade nearest to your site, with the license numbers and phone numbers we hold, then call them yourself.
- Cost to search
- Free
- Account needed
- None
- Who you call
- The business