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The solar industry is a rapidly growing segment of the renewable energy market. With this growth comes a need for better and more efficient ways to inspect and maintain solar farms. These large-scale projects present unique inspection challenges for both the owners and the maintenance companies. Traditional methods, such as ground crews or helicopters, can be costly, labor-intensive, and time-consuming.
There is a new option:
Thermal imaging using drones to inspect solar farms. This approach is fast, efficient and accurate.
Let's take a closer look at how it works.
This blog post discusses drone solar panel farm inspection with thermal imaging and identifies potential problems. Thermal imaging can help us identify issues with solar panels that are difficult or impossible to see with the naked eye. Drones can help us save time and money by identifying problems before they develop into significant issues. Control of power generation through the effective use of drones and minimizing costly mistakes and the uncertainties of traditional inspections.
The development of the solar industry and energy sources continues to add more renewable power systems. It is vital to inspect solar farms at least once a year to maximize the energy produced by the solar panels for at least 20 years.
Solar inspections are an easy, non-destructive technique that lets you spot faults in solar cells swiftly and accurately using a thermal camera.
Manufacturers know that their solar systems will be safe when utilizing thermal imaging for solar farm inspections.
Thermal images inspect the solar panels’ electrical equipment and identify structural anomalies inside the solar farm.
The operational efficiency of a solar farm is vital for maximum energy production, long-term profits, and efficient energy use.
Solar panels can fail, decreasing peak efficiency and leading to early replacements.
This information is valuable when considering how much money is invested in solar, both for homes and commercial buildings. There are many different ways to determine potential problems with the panels, but aerial thermal inspection with drones is one of the most efficient tools available. Solar panel array inspections
1. What is a solar panel array inspection, and why is it important?
A solar panel array inspection is an essential part of ensuring that your solar panels are working correctly and efficiently. A technician will examine the entire array during an inspection to look for any damage or problems affecting performance.
2. What are the benefits of having a solar panel array inspection performed regularly on your property or home solar system installation
Having a solar panel array inspection performed regularly on your property can ensure that you’re getting the most out of your solar installation. By identifying any problems with your system early on, you can save money and improve performance. Thermal imaging is one of the most effective ways to inspect a solar array. It can identify issues with the panels, wiring, and mounts. And, since it’s non-invasive, it won’t damage your system in any way. A professional solar array inspection can help you identify any potential problems with your solar systems and correct them before they become more serious.
3. How often should you have a solar panel array inspection performed on your property or home solar system installation
The recommended maintenance of the Solar panel systems is at least once, preferably twice, a year to ensure that the entire system functions correctly and generates the expected amount of electricity. During an inspection, the maintenance team can replace malfunctioning modules, which can help prevent more severe problems in the future and increase maintenance costs.
4. Who should perform your solar panel array inspection
When it comes to solar panel array inspections, many people may think that it is a job that anyone can easily handle. However, when choosing who should inspect your solar panels few things have to keep in mind. The first thing you need to think about is the qualifications required for this type of job. It is best to hire a commercial drone operator in many cases because they have experience with similar work. They know how to get the job done quickly and efficiently while safe. So when choosing who should inspect your solar farms, keep these factors in mind:
Experience – A commercial drone operator will have experience with inspections and should be able to get your solar panels inspected accurately and quickly.
Security – You don’t want just anyone flying a drone over your solar farms. Ensure that the person you hire for this job has extensive knowledge of local privacy laws, including public and private property.
Drone Operation – When choosing who should inspect your solar farms, make sure that they fully comply with EASA guidelines. The last thing you want is to spend money on someone who does not fully understand the rules for flying drones for commercial purposes.
Insurance – In many cases, if you have someone inspect your solar panels, they will need to be insured. Be sure to find out if they have the proper insurance coverage before committing to their services.
Reviews – Before hiring anyone for an important job like this, it is always a good idea to do some research online on previous customers’ experiences with them. If you cannot check their reviews, you can always ask for personal references.
Product Use – If you already own the drone that will be inspecting your solar panels, make sure they know how to operate it and are comfortable with its use.
Relying on drones at solar panel Farms
The use of drones as a tool for inspecting solar panels will significantly help the industry. Drone inspections using thermal imaging technology are cost-effective and accurate in detecting performance degradation over time. Drone flights can quickly produce high-quality thermal images of several hundred modules per day at a fraction of a manual inspection cost. One operator with a thermal imaging camera can typically inspect 100 panels per day.
Drones can fly at very low altitudes to capture detailed images of solar panel performance in various weather and seasons, and they can compensate for cloud shadows.
There are several high-resolution cameras on the drone., including a thermal imaging camera that records the cell temperatures of individual panels. The flight path is carefully planned based on location and facility. Automatically or manually, the initial observation point is discovered just after takeoff. After the first observation, the drone establishes a horizontal line to maintain its altitude. The goal is to inspect all solar panels within range along the flight path near the ground. Drone flight algorithms rely on sophisticated data analysis techniques that calculate the average cell temperature for each photo based on the temperatures of the camera pixels.
Valuable data
Drones thermal cameras can capture hundreds of images and use advanced methods to detect defects. Aerial inspection produces a comprehensive interactive map of the entire solar system, with all anomalies noted and geographically labeled to help professionals find repairs. The comparison highlights the temperature of each probe. The thermal images present a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the entire system, including individual cells, modules, and strings. Dirt or debris accumulation on modules, a widespread problem in the industry, is specifically addressed.
The thermal image highlights a mismatch in the cell temperature of this array under direct sunlight. This condition also occurs during the quote shadow effect of a dirt accumulation on a single cell. The comparison shows that as the solar panel heats up, some cells raise more than others, thus producing an uneven heating effect known as hot spots, leading to module failure at high temperatures.
- Save time through more efficient inspection
- Increase safety by reducing the potential for human error
- Drone inspections save time and money
- Improve the efficiency of the inspection process
- Increase safety by reducing the risk of human error and damage to panels
- Thermal imaging cameras can detect panels that are difficult to see with the naked eye
- Drone inspection is less expensive than manual inspections
- It Saves time improves efficiency
Thermal imaging provides several benefits when performing solar farm Inspections.
There are several reasons why it can be beneficial to use a drone during solar farm inspection. For example, it can be challenging to access certain parts of the system as they are too dangerous or time-consuming for a person to go.
Additionally, drones can capture detailed images from high altitudes and fly around the various sections of the farm. Thermal imaging is also more effective than visual inspections in many cases because specific issues may not be visible to the naked eye.
Remember that the typical efficiency loss in panels occurs during the first decade, so it is essential to ensure that defects are found and fixed early to keep the solar farm running at peak efficiency. The use of drones can help minimize any uncertainty by using automated inspection. A drone can typically fly over the entire solar farm within minutes and inspect the panels from a safe distance. It is also possible to do a flight plan which ensures that a single flight will perform a complete inspection. The drones can fly autonomously and speed up finding defects with thermal imagery.
Implementing drone inspections can result in a range of benefits for solar panel owners and operators. Drone technology and thermal imaging can increase the chance of finding defects early.
Operators must maintain quality to ensure regular operation, operational efficiency, savings, and the longevity of the power plant while guaranteeing safety. Thermal inspections of solar systems ensure safe operation and successful solar system use. The primary goal of thermal mapping is to detect defects in solar cells and allow owners to choose which cells to replace to increase the overall production of a solar plant..
Warranty claims
Inspections of solar farms must be accurate and demonstrate the module’s performance when submitting a warranty claim to the manufacturer. Thermal cameras help detect solar cells and string level faults. Aerial surveys that use thermographic standards from IEC TS62456-3 from the IETC to test installed solar panels quickly and accurately identify warranted concerns.
We conduct all thermal inspections with a high-end DJI H20T camera for accurate temperature readings.
Conclusion
Solar farm inspection is a new, efficient way to inspect and maintain solar farms. This method is quicker and cheaper than traditional methods, and it presents less risk to personnel and the environment.
Are you ready to keep your assets healthy?
Contact us to learn more about how we can help you implement this technology in your business.