Solar site survey checklist

What does a solar site survey include?

Capture these on every survey. Each one is used later by someone who was not there.

• Roof: every usable plane, its pitch (measured, not estimated), material, condition, obstructions and setbacks.
• Attic: rafter size and spacing, sheathing, where conduit can run.
• Main service panel: main breaker rating, busbar rating, free breaker spaces, whether it sits behind a locked gate.
• Meter and utility: the utility's name, the meter location, the service entrance.
• Equipment wall: where the inverter, disconnects and battery will mount, and the distance from the array.
• Shading: trees and obstructions, measured.
• Front of the home: with the house number readable and the home in frame.

Why each item matters later

Pitch sets the design tilt. Some financiers check the installed tilt against the design within a stated tolerance, so an estimated pitch can come back as a mismatch at the milestone.

The main breaker and busbar ratings decide the interconnection method. At least one financier asks for a photo of the busbar rating at the install milestone.

The utility name decides which interconnection queue the job enters.

The front-of-home photo comes back at the install milestone as address proof. Take it the way the financier will want it: number readable, home in frame.

What only the surveyor can record

Most facts about a job can be recovered later from another system. A few cannot:

• The main breaker and busbar ratings.
• Whether the panel is behind a locked gate.
• The rafter spacing.
• The pitch of a plane the designer never stood on.

If the survey form leaves these blank, they stay blank until the crew finds out with the equipment on the truck. A good form makes the surveyor answer them. The photos prove the answers.

How a survey miss becomes a package sent back

The chain is survey, design, permit, install, package. A miss at the first link costs minutes to fix there and a truck roll to fix at the last.

An estimated pitch becomes a design at the wrong tilt. The crew installs to the roof, not the design. The install photos and the design package disagree. The financier sends the package back. It does not ask which link failed.

Before the package goes

R11 takes on the preparation, corrections, and follow-up agreed for the engagement. Bring the records you have. We define the result, the authorized work, and anything that still needs your team.

The prepared handoff keeps the supporting evidence and the next decision together. Your team authorizes submission. The financier decides approval and payment.