According to the the latest PV inverter IMSResearch study predicts that in the 2012-2017 period, the PV inverter after-sales service and extended warranty market will grow 110%. PV inverter hardware profit margins are being squeezed, but the after-sales service market is expected to more than double 2017, amounted to $ 1.7 billion, provides a valuable additional source of profits for suppliers. 

The analysis results show that caused a major driving force of this growth will be one of the utility-scale PV mounting system is expected to be one of the fastest growing areas in the next five years. These photovoltaic installation systems usually use a large three-phase inverters, these inverters tend to buy the annual service plans to ensure that the best operating results. In 2012, 26% of the high-power three-phase power inverter with bundled service plans is expected that this figure will grow to 34% in 2017. In many cases, the banks and financial institutions will specify the inverter service plan requirements as loan conditions, PV mounting system to ensure effective operation and to ensure that the inverter downtime minimized. 

After-sales service of the PV inverter market will show revenue growth trend, but at the same time, suppliers will also face a variety of challenges, including the response to the increasingly geographically dispersed PV market. 

"With the different countries, local legislation provides for a minimum length of the warranty period, the supplier had to establish service offices in emerging markets to provide customers with adequate response time." The IHS PV analyst CormacGilligan explains, "not only a focus on the photovoltaic industry, industrial inverter manufacturers may start to provide after-sales service in the PV market, because they are usually existing business to serve other industries in these regions. single PV inverter business makers may cooperate with third-party service partners until they are able to establish a local service center in these emerging markets. " 

In order to promote after-sales service, and make themselves stand out from the competition counterparts, inverter suppliers are different methods and strategies for marketing and development, service plans and extended warranty. grid tie inverter suppliers face inverter hardware prices increasing pressure, and has a longer warranty micro inverter competing technologies are continuing to increase, some inverter suppliers are no additional the cost of the case to provide a longer warranty period, leading inverter manufacturers also provide a complete PV power plant operators and maintenance services. 

Previously IMSResearch over four hundred buyers of PV inverters survey shows that more than 90% of the respondents said that good quality assurance and after-sales service "for most projects, it is important to" or "for all projects is essential. " The IMSResearch photovoltaic inverter and BoS, research and analysis manager, said: "Taking into account the nature of the PV market is highly competitive, attractive warranty and service reputation and provide good after-sales service is increasingly becoming the supplier of PV inverters can enhance its brand SamWilkinson , a very important way to gain market share. "