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Solar site surveys · New York City, NYRoof, attic and service panel captured in one visit, with the plan set built for the New York City AHJ you submit into and the utility that serves the address.
New York City uses its own codes: the 2022 NYC Construction Codes, the 2025 NYC Electrical Code (based on the 2020 NEC) and the NYC Fire Code, whose FC 504 and FC 512 set rooftop clear paths and ridge setbacks. Solar jobs are filed with NYC DOB by a PE or RA, with a separate electrical permit, and most of the city is served by Con Edison, much of it on network grids.
New York state rules apply here, plus whatever the local AHJ amends.
Flat roofs need a 6-foot-wide, 9-foot-high clear path and 6-by-6-foot clear areas at the parapet, which limits array area on narrow rowhouses. An exception lets small flat roofs (25 feet or less across) be covered edge to edge in some cases, and a TM-5 variance is available for difficult roofs.5,6
Network grids are used widely in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx. On these grids, export depends on system size relative to load, and upgrades can mean street work, so record the service and meter configuration at the survey.8
The NYC Building Code sets a 25 psf ground snow load and a 117 mph ultimate design wind speed for Risk Category II buildings, and wind loads follow ASCE 7.9
The main AHJs, and how the rest of the metro splits up.
Solar is its own work type in DOB NOW: Build, and a solar job filing cannot be permitted without at least one electrical filing marked photovoltaic. A PE or RA prepares the documents, including the structural analysis, and performs the final inspection. Owners seeking the property tax abatement file through DOB.12,13,14
Official page ↗Enforces the rooftop access rules. On flat roofs 100 feet tall or less, panels may not block the required clear path unless an exception applies, and on sloped roofs they stay 3 feet from the ridge. Where a roof cannot comply, the owner can request a variance with FDNY's TM-5 application.6,5
Official page ↗All five boroughs fall under NYC DOB and the FDNY. Across the city line, Westchester and Long Island municipalities each enforce the 2025 Uniform Code through their own building departments.15
Con Edison serves most of the city. The Rockaways in Queens are served through LIPA's system, operated by PSEG Long Island.8,20
Serves New York City and Westchester. Installers apply through PowerClerk, and systems of 50 kW or less go through the SIR small-DG process. Much of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx is on underground network grids, where how much a system can export depends on its size relative to the building's load.21,8
Interconnection page ↗PSEG Long Island runs the grid owned by the Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) for about 1.2 million customers on Long Island and in the Rockaways. Residential solar customers there cannot opt into the Value Stack.20,22
Interconnection page ↗The same capture standard as every other New York job, so the plan set is built on what the technician verified on site.
Yes. NYC DOB requires a Professional Engineer or Registered Architect to prepare the construction documents, including a structural analysis of the roof, and to perform the final inspection. The electrical permit is filed separately by a NYC-licensed electrician.13
A mostly flat roof, including a brownstone with small pitched sections, follows FC 504: a clear path and parapet landing areas must stay open. Sloped roofs follow FC 512, with panels kept 3 feet from the ridge. The FDNY can grant variances through the TM-5 process.6,5
The 2025 NYC Electrical Code, fully effective December 21, 2025, which amends the 2020 NEC. That is one edition behind the 2023 NEC used in the rest of the state.1,25
Yes. The Solar and Electric Storage System abatement covers 30% of eligible cost, up to $250,000, applied over four years, for systems placed in service from 2024 through 2034. The installer usually files through DOB by March 15.10
Not always at full size. On Con Edison's network grids, which cover most of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and the Bronx, export depends on the system's size relative to the building's load, and upgrades may be needed.8
State-level detail is on the New York page; every location is on the solar site survey hub.
Roof, attic and service panel in one visit
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Explore →Every local fact on this page links to where it came from. Codes, programs and tariffs change: confirm the current requirement with the AHJ and the utility before you design.
Bring your monthly job count and the AHJs you submit into, and we will tell you straight whether we fit.
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