Who inspects solar in Florida, and what do they check?

The building inspection

This one checks that what was built matches what was permitted. An inspector is looking at how the array is fastened to the structure, whether the electrical work is to code, whether disconnects and labelling are where an emergency responder would expect them, and whether the products used are the ones the approved drawings named.

In Miami-Dade and Broward that last point carries more weight than elsewhere, because every component in the load path has to carry approval for the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone. A substitution made on site for availability reasons — a different clamp, a different fastener — is the kind of thing that fails an inspection even when the workmanship is good.

The utility inspection and interconnection

Passing the building inspection means the installation is safe and compliant. It does not mean you may push power onto the grid. Your utility has its own review, and it ends with a meter that can measure energy flowing in both directions. Until that is done, the system stays off.

What to have ready

• The approved permit drawings on site, matching what was actually installed.
• Product approval numbers for the components in the load path, particularly in the HVHZ.
• Access to the array, the inverter, the disconnects and the meter. An inspector who cannot reach something will return, and returning takes another slot.
• Any engineering letter the permit required, signed and sealed.

If it fails

A failed inspection is usually a correction notice rather than a disaster — a missing label, an unlisted component, a clearance. Your contractor fixes it and re-inspection is scheduled. What you want to know is who pays for the re-inspection and the delay, and that is a question to settle in the contract rather than after the notice arrives.