Twenty-nine cities and counties across 19 states now offer remote virtual inspections for residential solar and battery systems, using live video and photo documentation to verify rooftop installations without an inspector ever climbing a ladder.

Solar installations turned out to be one of the best possible candidates for remote inspection, largely because of a safety problem that plagued the in-person model for years.

Many on-site inspectors don't climb onto rooftops at all, due to fall risk and associated insurance limitations, which means they often skip visually inspecting the actual solar equipment during a traditional site visit.

Remote inspection solves this directly by letting the homeowner, installer, or contractor put a camera on the roof themselves, giving the inspector eyes on equipment that a ladder-averse inspector might otherwise never see.

A 2026 report from the Interstate Renewable Energy Council, or IREC, found this shift actually improves inspection quality in many cases rather than weakening it.

The report notes that remote inspection makes it easier for a senior-level inspector to support less experienced staff in real time during a call, something that isn't possible when a junior inspector is working alone on a rooftop.

Donald Crichlow, Senior Inspector for the City of Los Angeles, put it plainly: "remote inspections have proven to be at least as safe, and in many cases safer, than onsite inspections".

How Los Angeles Runs Its Solar Inspection Program

Los Angeles offers one of the most mature examples of this model in action. The city now completes roughly 100 remote inspections per day across all trades, with about 30 of those specifically for solar installations.

Los Angeles County's Public Works Department has published detailed technical requirements that walk installers through exactly what footage an inspector needs to see before a solar photovoltaic inspection can even begin.

The county's protocol requires installers to submit a specific sequence of photos before any live inspection starts, including the building's street address, the roof plane before array placement, all equipment manufacturer labels, the inside of junction boxes showing crimped connections, the service panel's interior, and grounding connections from the array to the electrode.

Only after reviewing these images does the inspector begin a live stream walkthrough covering the same equipment in real time.

This structured, photo-first approach ensures inspectors get consistent, thorough documentation regardless of which staff member conducts the review.

Case Study: Portland's Solar Inspection Process

Portland, Oregon runs a well-documented virtual solar inspection program that offers a clear template for departments building their own. The city advises installers to have several specific items ready before the inspection call begins.

  • City-approved plans, printed and ready to show the inspector on demand

  • A fully charged mobile device, like a phone or tablet, with FaceTime for iPhone or Google Duo for Android already installed

  • A flashlight for checking low-light areas like attics or panel interiors

  • A ladder, since some equipment still requires close-up inspection from height

  • The contractor or electrician physically present on-site to assist with the video walkthrough

Portland's Bureau of Development Services offers virtual appointments daily, giving installers far more scheduling flexibility than a limited in-person inspector calendar would typically allow.

The Financial Case For Departments

The cost savings for local governments running these programs are substantial and well documented.

IREC's report estimates that inspectors can conduct roughly three times as many remote inspections as on-site inspections per year, which translates into savings of about $30,000 per inspector per year for the local government running the program.

That productivity gain also directly reduces wait times and clears backlogs of pending inspection requests, a persistent pain point for departments trying to keep pace with the residential solar boom.

Installers benefit financially too, in ways that compound the savings on the government side.

When remote inspections happen via photo or recorded video, installers can capture footage at the end of installation and skip sending a staff member back to the job site later to meet an inspector.

When inspections happen via live video instead, installers get shorter inspection windows and can immediately correct a failed item and schedule a re-inspection on the spot, avoiding an entirely separate trip back to the property.

New York's Mandatory Model

Some states have gone further than simply offering virtual solar inspection as an option. In New York, remote inspections are actually required after residential solar or storage installations that received a state subsidy have already passed their initial on-site inspection by a local inspector.

This layered approach uses virtual review as a secondary verification step, adding an extra layer of quality assurance without requiring a second in-person site visit.

Making The Switch

The evidence from Los Angeles, Portland, Omaha, and New York shows that virtual solar inspection isn't a compromise on safety or quality; in many respects it improves both, while saving departments tens of thousands of dollars per inspector each year and clearing backlogs that have slowed the residential solar boom.

Departments that start small, with a clear photo checklist and a defined equipment list for installers, can build the same kind of mature, high-volume program that cities like Los Angeles now run every day.

As more states consider mandates similar to New York's, departments that get ahead of the curve now will be better positioned to meet future requirements without scrambling to build a program from scratch.

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