The serial number you didn’t photograph will cost you the warranty
· 4 min read
Seven years from now an inverter on one of your sites will stop. The manufacturer’s first question will be its serial number. Whether you can answer it is being decided today, on site, by whoever is holding the phone.
Every claim starts with the serial
Inverter, battery and panel makers all open a warranty case the same way: the serial number and model of the specific unit that failed, plus the installation date, plus photos. No serial, no case.
Guides written for people filing these claims say the same thing about how they fail. A serial taken from the wrong device in a multi-unit array triggers an automatic mismatch rejection. A serial that doesn’t match the invoice sends the claim back. Undated photos get pushed to manual review.
The label is on the back of the panel you can’t reach
On a finished roof the panel serials face the roof. The inverter label is behind a cable tray. The battery label is inside a cabinet someone will padlock. The only moment every one of them is easy to read is the day you install it.
Miss that moment and the serial is gone. Getting it back means scaffolding, an isolated array, or a site visit nobody will pay for.
And your customer might have to do it without you
UK support services that help homeowners after an installer has ceased trading describe the same problem every time: the manufacturer warranty is still valid for 10 to 25 years, but claiming it needs the serial of the exact component, and the paperwork left with the owner often doesn’t have it.
Your handover pack is the only record that outlives your company, your crew and your filing system. A pack without serials doesn’t protect anyone.
What Baton changes
Your crew opens a link, types a six-digit code and photographs each nameplate. There’s nothing to install and no account, and it keeps shooting with no signal. Two AI models read every plate independently. Where they disagree, the detail is flagged. The manufacturer, model and serial are always checked by a person against the photo.
Baton then builds the register and the handover as PDF, Excel and CSV, with the nameplate photo beside every line, in your own Google Drive. Seven years from now the serial is a search away.
Quick answers
- Can I claim a solar warranty without the serial number?
- Almost never. Manufacturers open a claim with the serial and model of the exact unit, the installation date and photos. A serial from the wrong unit is rejected automatically.
- How do I make sure every serial is recorded at handover?
- Photograph each nameplate on install day, while it can still be reached. Baton reads every photo twice, has a person check the serial, and builds the register in your Google Drive.