Free tool
Reading a solar nameplate
The serial is the smallest text on the plate and the single most important thing on the job. Here is where it lives and how to capture it once.
Every solar warranty claim is checked against a serial number. It sits on the equipment nameplate, usually beside a barcode, in the smallest type on the label. Photograph it rather than typing it: a transposed character does not come back as a denial, it comes back as a unit the manufacturer has no record of, which is slower to fix.
What a nameplate carries
Manufacturer
Clear readSungrow
Usually the largest text on the plate, top left or centred.
Model
Clear readSH10RT
Often near the brand, sometimes prefixed with Type or Model.
Serial
Check this oneA2340512877
Smallest text on the plate, frequently next to a barcode or QR code.
An example capture, not a live read. Values shown are from a Sungrow SH RT hybrid, a model in this catalogue.
A photo worth keeping
Fill the frame with the plate. A nameplate in the corner of a roof photo is unreadable at any resolution.
Kill the glare. Most plates are reflective and the sun is behind you. Shade it with your body or shoot at an angle.
Get the barcode in shot. If the printed serial is worn, the barcode often survives.
Take it before the unit goes on the wall, if you can. Some plates end up facing a wall or a ceiling.
Do not rely on the delivery pallet label. It records what was shipped, not what ended up on this roof, and on a three brand job those diverge.
Claim Timer reads the make, model and serial off the photo and flags anything it is unsure of in amber, so it gets checked instead of trusted.
Try the capture screenThis page shows what a good capture looks like rather than reading a photo you upload. The live reader sits behind sign-in for now, because an open image endpoint that calls a model on every request is a bill waiting to happen.
Where the plate is on each kind of equipment
On a panel, the label is on the back, usually near the junction box, and there is often a second peel-off serial sticker on the frame that installers are meant to transfer to the paperwork. On an inverter it is on the side or the underside of the case, which means photographing it after wall mounting can require a mirror or a phone held at arm's length. On a battery it is commonly on the side of the enclosure, and several brands want more than one serial.
BYD is the clearest example of the last point. A claim on a Battery-Box wants the product, module and inverter serials, and going back for a module serial means opening the enclosure again.
Why a serial matters more than people expect
The serial is how a manufacturer knows the unit is theirs, when it was made, which production batch it came from, and whether the warranty term has started. Without it there is no claim, only a description of a broken object.
It also decides which terms apply. Warranty documents change, and brands routinely hold different terms for units shipped before and after a given date. Fronius units installed before 1 October 2024 use a 24 month registration window rather than the current 30 months, and the serial is what settles which one you are under.
The photo stays on the record
Claim Timer keeps the nameplate photo against the equipment for the life of the install, so you can always prove the serial you registered was the serial that was fitted.