That last distinction is worth settling before anything else, because it is the source of most disagreements between owners and installers.
Warranty covers approved product defects under the applicable terms. It answers the question: this component has failed, is that the manufacturer's responsibility? An AMC covers cleaning, preventive inspection, maintenance support and system-health checks. It answers a different question: is this system still doing what it was installed to do?
A panel under a thirty-year performance warranty that has not been cleaned in two years is not a warranty claim. It is a maintenance gap, and it will not be treated as anything else. The two products sit side by side because they cover genuinely different risks.
What maintenance is actually preventing
Solar systems fail quietly. There is no noise, no smell and usually no alarm anyone is watching. Output simply drifts downwards, and because the figure it is drifting from is invisible to the owner, it can take a year to notice.
Soiling is the largest recoverable loss, and in Ethiopia it is strongly seasonal. Through the dry months dust settles continuously on every exposed surface, and a module coated in fine dust is losing light across its whole area at once. Then the main rains arrive and wash some of it off, unevenly, leaving streaks and deposits along the frame edges. This is precisely why Lewis maintenance runs on a pre-rain and post-rain schedule rather than an arbitrary quarterly calendar: the visits are timed to the seasons that actually determine how dirty the array gets.
Loose or degrading connections come next, and routine inspection catches alarms, loose fittings, ventilation concerns and visible cable issues before they become a fault or a safety matter. Heat is the third: inverters derate when they cannot shed it, and blocked vents or obstructed enclosures are found by someone standing in front of the unit, not by the monitoring app.
Three plans, one service network
Lewis maintenance cover comes at three levels. The service network is the same across all three. What changes is visit frequency, the depth of the inspection, and how quickly the response starts.
| SILVER, ESSENTIAL CARE | GOLD, PREVENTIVE CARE | PLATINUM, PRIORITY PROTECTION | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scheduled visits | 2 per year | 4 per year | 6 per year |
| Response target | 48 hours | 12 to 24 hours | Within 6 hours |
| Emergency visits | Quoted separately | 1 qualifying visit per year | Up to 3 qualifying visits per year |
| Cleaning | Panel cleaning at each included visit | Quarterly panel cleaning | Quarterly, plus one dust-event clean when genuinely required |
| Inspection | Visual inspection of panels, mounts and accessible cabling, basic inverter and battery status review | Detailed inverter and battery review, accessible electrical-safety inspection, performance comparison against previous visits | Advanced inverter, battery and electrical checks, monthly remote-monitoring review where connected, one annual thermal scan of accessible electrical equipment |
| Reporting | Short service report after every visit | Detailed report after every visit | Quarterly performance summaries and an annual system-health report |
| Suited to | Small homes, basic backup systems | Homes with battery backup, shops, offices and small businesses | Villas, clinics, restaurants, schools, offices and high-dependency businesses |
Platinum includes 24/7 first-level phone or WhatsApp support, with on-site timing dependent on location and availability. Response targets refer to initial acknowledgement and diagnosis, not guaranteed on-site resolution. Qualifying emergency visit terms and service-area limits are stated in the quotation.
What is quoted separately
A maintenance plan that pretended to cover everything would be an insurance policy, and it would be priced like one. Being explicit about the boundary is what makes it honest.
Included in every plan: scheduled maintenance visits, panel cleaning during those visits, visual system and accessible cable checks, technical support at the applicable response level, service and performance reports, and basic help with qualifying warranty documentation.
Quoted separately if required: spare parts and replacement components, major repairs, rewiring or system expansion, roof repairs, structural or civil works, scaffolding, cranes or specialist access equipment, travel outside the agreed service area, and damage caused by misuse, unauthorised work or external events.
That second-to-last item deserves attention if your property is outside Addis Ababa. Service area is defined in the quotation, and for a site several hours from the nearest engineer it is worth agreeing at the outset what is covered, what attracts a travel charge, and how an emergency visit is actually going to work in practice.
Year one is already covered
Both Lewis packages include a year of maintenance, which means the first renewal decision arrives with twelve months of evidence behind it rather than as a cold sell.
The Standard Solar Package includes one year of Silver cover, with two scheduled visits and a 48-hour response target, and can be renewed with Silver, Gold or Platinum. The Premium Solar Package includes one year of Platinum, with six scheduled visits and a response target within six hours, and can be renewed with Gold or Platinum.
Final visit frequency, response targets, service area and exclusions are confirmed in the signed AMC quotation and service terms, which are prepared after reviewing system size, panel quantity, inverter and battery configuration, roof access, location and the required response level.
How to choose your level
Not by system size, but by what a day costs you when the system is down.
A home with a modest system and a settled routine is well served by Silver: two visits a year keep the panels clean and put eyes on the installation. A home with battery backup, or a shop or small office, is usually better on Gold, where quarterly cleaning matters through the dusty months and the performance comparison against previous visits is what catches a slow decline before it becomes obvious.
For a clinic, restaurant, school or anywhere downtime is a business event, Platinum is the level to take. A six-hour response target and an annual thermal scan of accessible electrical equipment are bought for the outage that has not happened yet.
Common questions
Is a solar AMC worth paying for?
It is worth it wherever dust, shade or seasonal soiling reduce output measurably, and anywhere downtime carries a cost. The main return is not repairs, it is recovered generation and problems found early enough to stay small.
What is the difference between warranty and AMC?
Warranty covers approved product defects under the applicable terms. AMC covers cleaning, preventive inspection, maintenance support and system-health checks. A component failure may be a warranty matter; lost output from dirty panels is not.
How often should solar panels be cleaned?
It depends on local dust, vegetation and bird activity. Lewis plans run on a pre-rain and post-rain schedule: Silver includes cleaning at each of two visits, Gold is quarterly, and Platinum adds one dust-event clean when genuinely required.
Does the plan cover my property outside Addis Ababa?
Service area is defined in the AMC quotation, which is prepared after reviewing your location alongside system size and roof access. Travel outside the agreed service area is quoted separately, so it is worth settling the detail before signing.
Do I have to renew with the same plan?
No. Standard customers finish their included Silver year and may renew with Silver, Gold or Platinum. Premium customers finish their included Platinum year and may renew with Gold or Platinum.
