Compared to many types of complex electrical equipment, industrial power inverters are fairly easy to maintain. Remove a few screws and lift away the rigid equipment housing, and you have a relatively small piece of equipment you can place on a tabletop to perform the maintenance operation.
However, while maintaining inverters may be faster and more hassle-free than servicing some types of electrical equipment, performing maintenance nonetheless requires a good technical understanding of how inverters work.
If you don’t possess this understanding and have no desire to, you’ll probably outsource inverter maintenance to the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) or a professional third party. Below, we look at both options to see how they compare in three respects: price, technical expertise, and response time.
1. Price
Inverter manufacturers typically charge more for maintenance than third party providers. In general, OEMs are known to charge service rates over 50% higher than third parties. In addition, some OEMs have a costly “reinstatement fee”. If you use their services, switch to a third party provider, and then switch back to OEM maintenance, there could be a hefty price to pay. Before you choose OEM maintenance, read the service contract carefully.
2. Technical Expertise
Most inverter manufacturers have more technical insight into their products than third party maintenance providers. However, an OEM typically specializes in maintaining its own brand. If you have additional brands of electricity conduction equipment that need maintenance, you can find a third party that provides service for all of your equipment, not just a certain brand.
3. Response Time
Inverter manufacturers and third party providers can deliver good or bad response times, so there’s no clear winner in this category. Some providers — OEMs and otherwise — present different response times (two hours, 4 hours, 24 hours, etc.) that you can include in the service plan. If you have business-critical inverter needs, it’s usually best to invest in the fastest response time.
About Exeltech
Exeltech is one of the leading inverter manufacturers for industrial power inverters. We have over 25 years of experience designing stock and custom inverters that stand up to the rigors of industrial use. If you’re in the process of narrowing the field of inverter manufacturers to choose an equipment supplier, visit our store to learn about the products and services we offer.
You can also call us at 800-886-4683, or send us an email through our contact form. We’d love to learn about your inverter needs and see how we can help.
