Diagnosing Solar Panel Faults with Drone Thermography

Thermal Solar PV Fault Detection

Using photovoltaic solar panels to meet some or all your electricity needs is a great investment, now more than ever. However, your panels need to be functioning correctly if that investment is to be maximised.

Regular Solar Panel Checks
Many solar panel owners don’t know how their installation is performing and of course, as most installations are on rooftops, it can be difficult to physically check them. Also, faults are not always visible to the naked eye! This is where an annual drone thermography inspection can give you all the information that you need with just one or two easy flights conducted by a qualified thermographer and certified drone pilot.

When your system was installed, the installation company would have given you a performance estimate that you can use as the benchmark to monitor your panels and make sure they are working as hard for you as possible. Checking the display on your inverter or your accompanying app can easily demonstrate if your solar panels are under performing and if you find that they are not, it’s time to get in touch with a professional to get any faults diagnosed.

How Do Solar Panels Work?
A standard solar panel or module consists of a layer of silicon cells, a holding frame, a glass covering, and various wiring to allow current to flow from the silicon cells out to the convertor. Silicon is a nonmetal with conductive properties that allow it to absorb and convert sunlight into electricity. When light interacts with a silicon cell, it causes electrons to be set into motion, which initiates a flow of electric current. This is known as the “photovoltaic effect,” and it describes the general functionality of solar panel technology.

How To Detect A Faulty Solar Panel?
When faults develop with a solar panel the result is that these cells will heat up. This is because the energy generated by the electrons moving around is not flowing through the panel and onto the convertor, and must manifest somehow, it doesn’t can’t just disappear, so the energy becomes heat. This heat is what is detected when viewed with a thermal camera.
With multiple solar panels connected in series, when a fault develops in one panel it is likely to take down all the panels connected in the string, resulting in significant loss of energy generation.

#dronethermalimaging #Dronethermographer #SolarPanelInspection #solarpanelthermographer

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