PV Condition Assessments NYC | Third-Party Solar Assessment

What a PV Condition Assessment Is

A Technical Report Built for the Owner

A PV Condition Assessment (PVCA) is a structured, documentation-based review of a solar system's technical condition. It is not a sales call. It is not a routine PM visit. It is a formal engineering assessment that produces a written deliverable.

The assessment covers every major system component: electrical, mechanical, thermal, monitoring, and production performance. The output is a written report you can use for insurance, financing, management decisions, or vendor negotiations.

NABCEP PVSI

PV System Inspector

ID: PVSI-032123-013630

NABCEP is the gold standard for solar industry certification. The PVSI credential is specifically for inspection professionals, not installers.

ITC Certified

Infrared Thermographer

Infrared Training Center certification behind the thermal imaging in every assessment.

Report Contents

What the Written Report Covers

Delivered within 5 business days of the site visit. All findings documented with photographic evidence.

01: Electrical Integrity

DC termination torque and condition
MC4 connector condition and weatherproofing
Grounding conductor continuity and connections
Conduit and wiring management
Labeling compliance and circuit identification
Combiner box and disconnect condition

02: Thermal Imaging

Full array infrared scan during active production
Hot cell identification (cracked cells, bypass diode failures)
DC combiner and terminal block thermal review
Inverter heat management assessment
Delta-T classification per IEC 62446-3 reference ranges

03: Structural & Roof Interface

Racking hardware and fastener condition
Roof penetration and flashing condition
Array drainage: standing water risk points
Corrosion and weathering assessment
Panel condition: visible physical damage, soiling

04: Performance & Monitoring

Production vs. modeled output comparison
String and optimizer performance analysis
Monitoring platform configuration review
Alert history and communication gap analysis
Inverter event log review

05: Inverter & Component Lifecycle

Inverter model and production year
Estimated remaining design life
Warranty status: original, extended, expired
Firmware version and known issue review
Capacitor replacement considerations (electrolytic inverters)

06: Recommendations

Findings prioritized by severity (immediate / near-term / long-term)
Specific repair and maintenance recommendations
Array cleaning interval recommendations based on observed soiling
Cost-impact analysis for major findings
Suggested follow-up actions

Thermal Imaging, In the Field

What an Infrared Scan Actually Shows

Example captures from field assessments: infrared scans of combiner boxes, disconnects and inverter enclosures, each reading spot and reference temperatures against the surrounding baseline. This is the raw data behind the delta-T classification in the written report, not a stock photo of a thermal camera.

Infrared thermal image of an electrical disconnect and enclosures reading 91.7°F against a cooler blue background — Disconnect and combiner enclosures, spot reading 91.7°F.

Infrared thermal image showing an enclosure reading 121.2°F, notably hotter than an adjacent 93.7°F component — One enclosure reading 121.2°F next to a 93.7°F neighbor: exactly the kind of delta-T a scan is built to catch.

Infrared thermal image of a conduit run reading 119.8°F at its hottest point — Conduit run showing 119.8°F at its hottest point, 80.9°F reference nearby.

Infrared thermal image of three enclosures with fairly even thermal signatures around 81.8°F — Three enclosures reading evenly around 81.8°F, a clean scan with no outliers.

Infrared thermal image of two enclosures reading up to 167°F — Two enclosures reading up to 167°F, a finding that gets flagged and prioritized in the written report.

Infrared thermal image of a row of four enclosures with a max/min readout of 130.2°F and 84.0°F — A row of enclosures scanned together, max/min logged at 130.2°F and 84.0°F.

A scan in motion: panning the camera across a row of enclosures to compare them side by side.

Electrical Integrity, In the Field

What Section 01 Findings Actually Look Like

Real findings from field assessments: cracked connectors, corroded terminations, damaged conduit glands. This is the visible evidence behind an "immediate priority" line item in a written report.

Cracked MC4 connector housing on a solar panel, held in a gloved hand — A cracked MC4 connector housing: moisture ingress and eventual arc-fault risk if left unaddressed.

Damaged conduit gland with exposed, unterminated conductors at a rooftop mounting rail — A conduit gland that was never properly terminated, conductors exposed to the weather.

Cable gland connector showing green corrosion on the conductor inside — Green corrosion inside a cable gland, a sign moisture has been getting in for a while.

Corroded aluminum conductor strands held with pliers at a lug connection — Corrosion at a lug connection, exactly the kind of high-resistance joint a thermal scan is built to catch.

Open combiner box interior showing fuses, terminal blocks, and grounding conductors — Combiner box internals: fuse condition, terminal torque, and grounding all get checked here.

Clamp meter reading current at a breaker panel during a field assessment — Field measurements, not just visual inspection: a clamp meter reading at the panel.

On the roof, checking mounting rail and combiner box hardware as part of a walkthrough.

Close-up of a SolarEdge inverter communication board showing WiFi and cellular modem modules used for production monitoring — A SolarEdge communication board up close: the WiFi and cellular hardware behind the monitoring platform review.

Technician removing a reusable enclosure assembly from a retired solar inverter — Removing a serviceable enclosure assembly from a retired inverter for use in repairing a client's damaged inverter housing.

Recovered solar inverter enclosure assembly for repair of a damaged client inverter — The recovered enclosure assembly, retained as replacement stock for an older inverter with broken cover bolts and closing issues.

A DC disconnect switch and cable glands on an inverter enclosure, part of what gets checked during a field assessment.

A broken enclosure fastener found during a field visit, the kind of small hardware failure that gets logged in a written report.

Inside an open inverter enclosure: DC conductors, fusing and the main circuit board, all part of what gets documented during an assessment.

Panel identification labels checked against the system's as-built documentation.

A technician examining an open combiner panel and internal wiring as part of a documented field assessment.

Use Cases

When Building Owners Commission an Assessment

Unexplained production decline

Your monitoring shows lower output than expected and your O&M provider's explanation doesn't satisfy. An independent assessment finds the actual cause.

Property acquisition

You're buying a building with an existing solar lease or ownership arrangement. Know what you're inheriting before closing.

Portfolio refinancing

Lender or insurer requires a technical review. We provide written documentation acceptable for commercial financing.

O&M contract renewal

Evaluate your current O&M provider's performance with objective data before renewing or switching.

System age milestone

5 years, 10 years, or approaching inverter warranty expiration. Structured review identifies risks before they become failures.

Insurance claim documentation

Storm damage, rodent damage, or other casualty event. Independent assessment documentation supports the claim.

PV Condition Assessments: NYC Commercial Solar