Generac Power Systems, Inc. and Generac Holdings, Inc. sell and lease PWRcell systems that operate with residential solar energy systems. The complaint for this class action alleges, however, that the PWRcell systems have defective SnapRS units that can malfunction, overheating, bubbling, burning, exploding, and causing system shutdowns.
The Nationwide Class for this action is all persons in the US who bought, leased, or otherwise acquired a defective Generac PWRcell system, during the fullest period allowed by law. A California Subclass has also been defined for all those in the above class who bought or leased their defective PWRcell systems in California.
Generac does not make or sell solar panels but only power management systems to use with solar panels. Its PWRcell systems, the complaint alleges, “provide, boost, regulate, convert, store, and monitor energy produced through the solar panels.”
The PWRcell system has components known as SnapRS (Rapid Shutdown) units that are intended as safety devices that are installed between the individual solar panels. The complaint alleges they are meant to quickly shut down power to each individual panel during power surges, for example, as may be caused by lightning strikes, and to lower photovoltaic output voltage to safe levels of less than 80 volts. “If working properly,” the complaint alleges, “the SnapRS devices prevent electric shock, electrocution, physical harm, equipment damage, and damage to property.”
The problem with the SnapRS devices, the complaint says, is that they do not work properly: “The shutoff devices malfunction be becoming overactive, repeatedly turning off and on, causing them to overheat, bubble, burn and explode, resulting in charring and home fires…” The shutdowns may affect single panels or result in a shutdown of the entire system, in what the system codes as a PVRSS Lockout, which stops the entire system from working until the lockout is cleared.
The complaint alleges that Generac has not told customers about the faulty SnapRS devices and has not issued a recall or provided replacement components for the defective SnapRS devices in all systems, even though they are warranted for twenty-five years.
In August 2021, Generac announced it had a fix for the problem via a firmware update. However, the complaint alleges, first, that many customers did not receive the update because their systems are not connected to the Internet, and second, that the malfunctions continued to occur even after the firmware was updated.
Later that year, Generac released a new model of SnapRS, the SnapRS 801A, but the complaint claims it had the same or similar defects and did not solve the problems of overheating and lockout. Generac now has SnapRS 802 units, but the complaint claims that the problems persist even after these units are installed.
Article Type: LawsuitTopic: Consumer
Most Recent Case Event
Generac Power PWRcell Defective SnapRS Units Complaint
December 30, 2022
Generac Power Systems, Inc. and Generac Holdings, Inc. sell and lease PWRcell systems that operate with residential solar energy systems. The complaint for this class action alleges, however, that the PWRcell systems have defective SnapRS units that can malfunction, overheating, bubbling, burning, exploding, and causing system shutdowns.
Generac Power PWRcell Defective SnapRS Units ComplaintCase Event History
Generac Power PWRcell Defective SnapRS Units Complaint
December 30, 2022
Generac Power Systems, Inc. and Generac Holdings, Inc. sell and lease PWRcell systems that operate with residential solar energy systems. The complaint for this class action alleges, however, that the PWRcell systems have defective SnapRS units that can malfunction, overheating, bubbling, burning, exploding, and causing system shutdowns.
Generac Power PWRcell Defective SnapRS Units Complaint