Water Ingress & Serial Number Capture for Warranty Claims
How drone-based serial number capture turned a complex warranty challenge into a multi-million-pound claim — 99.8% accurate, 8x faster, with zero downtime.
Client Challenge
Widespread module failure due to water ingress required a solar panel serial number capture to verify a multi-million-pound warranty claim.
Our Approach
Ultra high-resolution drone imaging and our proprietary processing scripts to capture and verify every serial number on site.
Results
99.8% accuracy | 8x faster than manual methods | Multi-million-pound warranty claim enabled.
Turning a Warranty Challenge into Actionable Results
A UK solar farm experiencing widespread water ingress needed fast, accurate proof to activate a multi-million-pound warranty claim. Manual serial number collection would have taken weeks and halted production. Futurewise Aerial delivered a verified dataset in days — 99.8% accurate, 8x faster than manual methods, with zero downtime.
Widespread Module Failure Requiring Verified Proof
A large-scale solar farm was experiencing a high rate of module failure, suspected to be caused by water ingress in a specific batch of panels. The asset owner needed to activate a multi-million-pound warranty claim, but this required an accurate, verifiable list of all affected panel serial numbers to prove they were part of the faulty batch.
A manual inspection was quoted as taking several weeks and would require shutting down sections of the farm, leading to unacceptable production losses.
What Were We Looking For?
Delamination occurs when water penetrates the panel, causing internal layers to separate. Visible as white patches or clouding, this defect progressively degrades performance and necessitates replacement under warranty.
High-Definition Fault Images & Serial Number Capture
Futurewise Aerial was deployed to conduct a full, high-resolution aerial survey. Using our specialist, state-of-the-art cameras, we captured panel-level imagery across the entire site. This data was then processed by our proprietary in-house scripts, which automatically located, read, and extracted the serial number from each individual module.
The data was compiled into a single, verified database for the client — ready for immediate use in their warranty claim submission.
Inspection Findings
The inspection uncovered widespread degradation concentrated in key areas of the farm. Dark discolouration along busbars indicated progressive corrosion, while white patches revealed where protective layers had separated from the cells.
These findings captured the non-random distribution of faults — a telltale sign of manufacturing issues requiring immediate warranty action.
What the Client Received
Digital Twin
A digital map of every module on site, geolocated and indexed for easy reference.
Full Module Table
Complete dataset of serial numbers, module IDs, and flagged anomalies.
High-Resolution Images
Detailed imagery for each module, providing visual evidence of condition.
Defect Register
Comprehensive log of all identified defects with supporting evidence.
Explore Our Work
Detecting Busbar Corrosion & Delamination
Ultra high-resolution drone inspection at a UK solar farm uncovering widespread busbar corrosion and mapping serial numbers for warranty claims.
View Case Study →Market-Leading Serial Number Capture
Fast, precise, and verifiable panel-level data for asset managers, owners, and operators.
View Case Study →Man vs Drone: The Statistics
Side-by-side comparison demonstrating drone inspection's 5x faster completion and zero safety incidents.
View Case Study →Facing a Similar Challenge?
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