From hotspots to cracked cells – a look beyond thermal imaging PV modules.
During an annual UAV thermal inspection it was obvious that there were above average amounts of hotspots at this particular site. The small 5MW site had 225 hotspots of delta temperature less than 20degC, and 212 that were over 20degC. That is ‘genuine’...
Over 15% of the system offline.
A Thermal inspection of this small 1.18MWp system revealed some of the usual culprits (blown/activated diodes, smashed front glass etc) as well as something that was a bit more out of the ordinary. Thermal image showing unusual anomalies in the PV system Very quickly...
Small Farm, Big problems
1.85MW, 284 Anomalies, 3.84% of system 1Shattered Front Glass104Blown Bypass Diodes2Open Circuit Strings7Hotspots73Snail Trails49Soiling and Shading from foliageSummary of Anomalies This 1.85MW PV System is relatively small but contained a very...
A comparison of aerial thermal data processing.
To conduct a thermal survey of solar pv by UAV/drone the data can be collected in a variety of formats (video/stitched images/individual image) and processed in different ways, all of which have pros and cons. We thought it would be interesting to compare thermal...
Using Solar PV inspection AI for instant results in the field.
After emerging from lockdown full of ideas, we thought we’d run a test to see if we could inspect some solar PV, upload it to Scopitos AI and then use the report to go find any faults, all in the same visit. It wasn’t perfect but with some more work it...
What is the best height from which to thermally survey solar PV?
If you are looking to commission a survey of solar PV, then a question you may ask contractors is ‘what height do you fly at’ to try and get a bearing on what data may be delivered, but to be able make an informed judgement you will need to know more. What is the best...
Drone Magazine Feature and Interview
A pleasure to be interviewed and featured in the quality drone magazine this month. Have a look below and head over to their site: https://www.selectmagazines.co.uk/product/drone/
Discover hidden faults. Increase yield.
This image shows PV modules that have a failed bypass diode. Bypass diodes are installed in modules to protect the PV cells from damage during shading. There is generally 3 of them within the junction box, each protecting a string of 20 cells which is why you can...