Solar and battery site-assessment checklist

Use this worksheet before the visit

Gather what you already know; leave technical unknowns for the assessor. Print this page and write on the tables, or use the checklist boxes while reading. Entries are not saved or sent anywhere. This is a household preparation aid, not an inspection record or a certificate of suitability.

For a generation project, start with solar systems. For storage added to existing solar, use battery installation. A combined solar and battery assessment should consider the interaction between equipment, while switchboard assessment addresses the electrical infrastructure. No particular upgrade is assumed necessary.

1. Bills and usage

• Collect recent electricity bills covering different seasons, ideally a full year.
• Request interval data if available and record its date range and interval length.
• Note the tariff, any export rate and when major appliances operate.
• Identify changes in occupancy or usage that make older bills less representative.

The monitoring data explainer helps distinguish inverter production from retailer imports and exports. Do not send account passwords with your enquiry. Provide only the records needed through the agreed contact process, and remove unrelated personal information where appropriate.

2. Existing equipment and safe access

• Find installation invoices, manuals, warranties and connection approvals.
• List models from documents or safely visible external labels.
• Record where equipment is located and any known access restrictions.
• Note known roof repairs, leaks, shading changes or planned building work.

Do not climb onto the roof, remove equipment covers or open the switchboard to gather information. Ground-level observations and existing records are enough for preparation. The assessor decides what inspection, testing or specialist roof advice is required. A visual impression of spare board space is not a capacity assessment.

3. Goals and priorities

Describe backup in everyday terms

List the appliances you hope to use and how long, but ask the designer to verify running and starting loads. Read battery capacity versus power before choosing a kWh target. Backup capability depends on the complete system, circuits and phase arrangement, not just the presence of a battery.

4. Questions for the assessor

• Which measurements are missing and who will obtain them?
• What roof, supply, board, equipment-location or access constraints apply?
• Which network, metering, planning or property permissions are needed?
• What is retained, replaced or excluded from the proposed scope?
• Which assumptions and uncertainties will be written into the design?

If construction has not started, use new-home solar provisions for builder coordination. After the assessment, transfer unresolved dependencies to the project planning worksheet. This checklist prepares information about the property; it does not duplicate the existing installer-selection article or certify any provider’s qualifications.