The crew checks shingle age, decking firmness, rafter spacing, and existing penetrations. A roof with five years of life left gets flagged now — re-roofing under a solar array later costs far more than sequencing the two jobs correctly from the start.

The electrician verifies panel capacity, breaker space, and grounding. Older two-hundred-amp panels usually accept solar backfeed cleanly; smaller or crowded panels may need a derate or upgrade. Discovering this at the site visit keeps it a line item instead of a mid-install surprise.

Using a sun-path camera at several roof points, the surveyor records exactly which trees, chimneys, and neighboring structures cast shade in each month. The result feeds the production model — this is the measurement that turns a satellite guess into a bankable estimate.

Within days you receive the layout, shade-adjusted production estimate, structural notes, electrical scope, and a savings model built on your actual bills. Every assumption is on paper, which means every assumption can be questioned — exactly how a five-figure decision should work.