A solar or battery installation is not finished when the last panel is mounted. It is finished when the local building department signs off, the utility grants permission to operate and the homeowner can turn the system on. Between the end of installation and that sign-off, projects often sit idle. Crews wait for inspectors, inspectors drive between sites, and a single failed item can push a project back by days or weeks.
Remote video inspection is changing that. Instead of requiring an inspector to visit every job in person, an increasing number of jurisdictions let installers show their work through live video or recorded photos and video. The result is faster approvals, fewer wasted trips and a clearer record of what was installed.
This guide explains how remote inspection works for solar and battery projects, what it covers, why policy momentum is building, and how installers and building departments can prepare.
Inspection delays are a quiet but significant cost in residential clean energy. Canary Media’s April 2026 reporting described how a solar inspection technician in Arizona typically drives to eight or nine homes a day to confirm that new systems are safely configured, and sometimes has to wait hours for a city or county inspector to show up.
The problems compound in several ways:
For building departments, the picture is mirrored. Inspectors spend large parts of the day driving, and routine residential work crowds out more complex projects.
A remote solar or battery inspection checks the same code requirements as an on-site visit. The difference is how the inspector sees the work. Canary Media describes the typical process in Pima County, Arizona: the installer uses a smartphone to capture photos and video of the checklist items, including the main electrical panel and breakers, the disconnect switch, the meter, and the wiring and conduit connecting them. The county then reviews the record and sends a pass or fail notice, with instructions for any fixes.
Exact checklists depend on the local jurisdiction and the codes it has adopted, but typical items include:
Solar array
Battery and energy storage
Electrical interconnection
Confirm the specific checklist with your local building department, because requirements vary.
The savings come from time. The Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s 2026 white paper, summarized by Canary Media, estimates that technology-enabled virtual inspections can reduce costs by more than $30,000 per inspector each year and allow inspectors to complete roughly three times as many inspections per day.
Real-world programs show how that plays out.
Pima County, Arizona. The county started remote inspections for residential air-conditioning installations more than a decade ago and expanded them over time. Its deputy director said inspectors were once driving up to 150 miles a day, and virtual inspection saved vehicle and fuel costs while allowing more inspections. The time to approve a home solar project fell from hours to minutes, according to Canary Media.
Placer County, California. The county’s acting chief building official estimated that remote video inspections eliminate about 3,900 driving miles a year. The county offers remote inspections on the same day the project is completed, which contractors value because they do not need to return the next day. He also said contractors who try the program tend to keep using it because they can choose the exact inspection time.
Maryland installers. Lumina Solar’s vice president of residential operations said virtual inspections in a few Maryland counties have saved a great deal of time, especially on follow-ups. Installers can fix a flagged problem and send video evidence the same day.
Better quality, not just speed. Pima County’s former development services director said she spends more time with each contractor on remote inspections than she could if she had to drive out for five minutes, and that digital records can help inspectors catch errors that a brief on-site visit might miss.
Remote inspection for solar and storage is moving from local experiment to state policy.
California. AB 1738 requires cities and counties to offer a remote inspection option by July 1, 2027, for specified residential projects. Solar and energy storage systems are on the must-offer list, along with water heaters, HVAC systems, reroofs and minor electrical work.
Maryland. The Maryland Utility RELIEF Act, which includes solar and battery permitting reforms, was signed on May 12, 2026. As Canary Media reported before final passage, counties would need to adopt online solar permitting by mid-2027, and counties that cannot meet five-day turnarounds by mid-2028 must offer a remote inspection option with inspection within five business days of a request. Check the final bill text for exact requirements.
Other states. Canary Media reports that Arizona, Florida and Texas have a significant number of jurisdictions with virtual inspection programs, and that New York’s NY-Sun solar and storage subsidy program requires virtual inspections as a follow-up to on-site local inspections. Permit Power told the outlet that about a half dozen states advanced or considered solar and battery permitting reform bills in 2026.
For more on where the trend is heading, see our article on which states are next to adopt remote building inspections.
Why it matters now. Utility bills are rising, and Canary Media notes that federal tax credits for rooftop solar were scrapped last year. In that environment, anything that reduces soft costs and shortens project timelines becomes more important to installers and homeowners.
Programs differ, but most follow a similar flow.
Some departments only accept live video. Placer County’s acting chief building official told Canary Media that the agency uses live video only because it needs to know it is at the right jobsite, not looking at a random photo. That is a reasonable approach, and a reminder to follow your jurisdiction’s rules.
Installers who prepare well pass more often and keep the remote option available.
OCR text extraction can also help during live sessions by capturing serial numbers and model information from equipment labels, which reduces typing errors on closeout forms.
For permit offices, the question is how to add remote inspection without adding risk.
A remote inspection is only as strong as the evidence behind it. For solar and battery installers, much of the work becomes invisible once the job is complete: flashing under panels, wire runs in attics, conduit behind walls, anchoring behind battery enclosures.
BlitzzCam field photo documentation helps crews capture a verified record as they work. Photos are stamped with GPS location and timestamp and organized by job and phase. That means an installer can show roof attachments before panels go on, wiring before covers are closed and battery mounting before finishing, and then pull those images up quickly if an inspector or auditor asks. BlitzzCam is listed as early access on the Blitzz site, so confirm availability with the Blitzz team.
Good documentation also helps with warranty claims, utility interconnection reviews, financing closeouts and customer disputes. For more on how field teams use remote video, see Blitzz’s utilities and energy and construction pages.
Remote inspection reduces roof exposure for inspectors. Placer County’s chief building official said that video from installers on the roof means inspectors do not have to climb up to check the work, which eliminates safety hazards. Roofing is among the deadliest occupations in the country, so reducing unnecessary roof visits is meaningful for departments and for solar inspectors alike.
Installers still work on roofs, and remote inspection does not change their fall protection duties. But it can mean fewer additional people at height for routine checks.
Remote inspection is not a universal solution.
Remote inspection is becoming a standard part of solar and battery permitting. California’s AB 1738, Maryland’s new law and existing programs in Arizona, Florida, Texas and New York point in the same direction: faster inspections, fewer unnecessary trips and better digital records.
For installers, the practical advice is to start now. Build the shot lists, train crews to narrate their work, adopt tools that capture verified photos and learn each jurisdiction’s remote inspection rules. For building departments, a pilot on solar, storage and similar projects is a low-risk way to build experience before a mandate arrives.
To see how remote video inspection and BlitzzCam field photo documentation can support your solar and battery workflow, explore the Blitzz features, read the case studies or schedule a demo with the Blitzz team.