Services > Field Testing > Safety Audits
Safety Audits
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IV curve tracing
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Milestone verification
Prevent Fires and Safety Risks and Optimize Rooftop PV Performance
Energy produced by solar PV has become one of the most cost-effective ways to produce energy. However, the risks present on commercial-scale solar rooftops are alarmingly real.
Based on a sample of hundreds of commercial scale rooftop inspections performed by Intertek CEA globally, including some of the largest commercial-scale rooftop installations worldwide, up to 97% of inspected rooftops had significant safety and fire risks.
Even somewhat ‘rudimentary’ issues pose potentially immediate fire risks, but many can operate for years without incident before causing a fire. These safety issues also present risks to your performance output well before the incident.
The good news is the most common and most serious issues usually involve replacing components - connectors and wires - not entire solar panels.
Finding and resolving safety risks on your rooftop solar installations is straight-forward and performing the due-diligence up-front can both reduce significant risks as well as save considerable costs, both from reputational damage, as well as physical damage and legal fees.
Comprehensive third-party due diligence inspections of PV rooftop solar sites
The most common causes of safety risks present on solar installations today include:
Inconsistent and widely varying installation practices
Inaccurate or incomplete connector information
Conflicting motives between O&M providers and system-owners
Resolving these safety and performance risks requires experienced, third-party experts without the conflicting priorities of Operations and Maintenance (O&M) providers who may be disincentivized to identify issues they would be responsible for resolving.
Intertek CEA’s PV rooftop safety and due diligence inspections deliver third-party critical oversight into the safety and performance risks present in your commercial rooftop installation and provide experienced guidance and testing to proactively remove risks and improve your system performance.
Proactively identify PV rooftop safety risks and ensure installation and operational best practices
Waiting until a thermal event occurs can be costly. Aside from remediation and reputational costs, thermal events often lead to costly litigation with the installers or O&M providers.
Proactively inspecting your rooftop for fire and other safety risks before an incident occurs is the best way to mitigate and prevent these potentially disastrous incidents.
Intertek CEA’s PV Rooftop Safety and Due Diligence Inspections include:
Full Audit Inspections of existing sites to ensure ongoing site safety
Issue Punch List and Inspection reports detailing the description, location, and assessed severity risk level of all issues found
IV Curve Trace capabilities for performance monitoring
Electroluminescence (EL) Testing for module microcrack detection
Visual Site Safety Inspection and Full System Testing
Installer and O&M team SOP (process and procedure) review
Third Party Solar Experts for commercial owners and building owners (on all levels, not just boots on the ground)
Emergency support and retroactive analysis and reporting post-thermal events
No installation wants to experience a thermal event, but when one does occur, it is crucial to have experienced hands on-site to assess and handle the situation. Intertek CEA engineers are often able to provide same-day support for sites who have experienced thermal events.
After a thermal event, our experienced engineers provide the necessary guidance to safely power off your system and deliver independent analysis and reports often required by insurance company’s following thermal events.
Intertek CEA’s Thermal Incident and Emergency Response Includes:
Root Cause Investigation Support
Third-Party Expert Witness
Evidence Chain of Custody Witness and Root Cause Analysis (RCA) Third Party Verification
Our full PV Rooftop Safety and Due Diligence services
End-to-end comprehensive engineering and design services that cover your project from start to finish
Project Concept and Development Support
Project Sale and Acquisition Support Services
Engineering and Construction Support
Energy Storage Engineering Services
Operation and Maintenance Support
Warranty Claims, Emergency Services, and Conflict Support
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IV curve tracing
Safety audits
Milestone verification
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