Thermal Drone

Thermal drones can detect faulty panels individually in solar power plants. They also eliminate the need to exclude certain parts of the site from inspection to save time. An unmanned aerial vehicle can inspect an entire solar power plant within a few hours.

How Does Thermal Imaging Work?

Heat, commonly known as infrared radiation (IR), is simply vibrating atoms. Objects emit heat based on how fast their atoms move; the faster the particles move, the hotter the object. Thermography is the examination of this heat and the application of thermal imaging.

Humans can feel heat but cannot see infrared radiation because it has an electromagnetic wavelength beyond the capability of the human eye. Thermal cameras convert infrared heat into something we can see.

Drone thermal cameras can detect many objects, though there may be exceptions, such as highly polished, shiny, and reflective items that have low emissivity and thus absorb less heat. These are difficult to detect with thermal cameras. However, objects with high emissivity, such as wood, solar panels, and even people, are easy to scan.

Advantages of Using Thermal Drones in Solar Power Plants

Thermal drones are versatile and efficient tools for obtaining data about solar power plants.

One of the undeniable advantages of drones is their ability to reach locations that are difficult, expensive, dangerous, or even inaccessible for manned inspections. They can be used indoors, underground, on land, or at sea. Drones enable safe inspections of solar power plants. They can collect data on solar panels 50 times faster than manual methods.

Generally, PV panel inspection with drones offers a more cost-effective and efficient inspection solution, allowing for more frequent thermographic inspections. This means that any issues can be identified and addressed much faster.

Thermal imaging drones can complete a full inspection of a solar power plant in hours compared to months of manual methods, increasing the amount and quality of data while reducing costs.

Should You Take Photos or Videos for PV Panel Inspection?

When performing drone inspections on solar power plants, it is recommended to capture both infrared and high-resolution color (RGB) photographs.

Do Drone Inspections of Solar Power Plants Provide Accurate Data?

There is a globally accepted standard that is scientifically proven to be accurate. Aerial thermography with unmanned aerial vehicles can detect 100% of faults and 99% of fault types with high accuracy. Compared to manual inspections, drones offer much shorter inspection times and more accurate data. The results of thermal inspections with drones are also reported to world standards using MapperX software.

How Long Does Aerial Thermography Take?

The duration of thermographic inspection for solar power plants depends on the size of the site. Inspecting PV systems with a thermal drone is the fastest and most efficient method.

For example, a 30 MW (60 hectares – 105,000 panels) site can be inspected in 4-5 hours with 99.99% accuracy and reported with MapperX.

How Can Commercial Savings Be Achieved with Thermal Drone Inspections of PV Panels?

• Drone inspections are much faster and less costly compared to traditional PV inspection methods.
• Inspection time is 99% faster.
• If faults detected in panels are left uncorrected, reports will show annual financial losses.

Does Aerial Thermography Extend the Lifespan of PV Panels?

To reduce degradation and faults in solar power plants, thermal drone inspections and maintenance are required. You should regularly check these systems to maximize long-term performance and meet energy production goals. Regular maintenance and inspections of PV panels extend their lifespan, resulting in faster return on investment.

Is MapperX Software Needed for Analyzing Data from Drone Inspections of Solar Power Plants?

Yes.

Even though drones reduce the inspection time for solar power plants by more than 99%, they generate a lot of information that needs to be reviewed and converted into usable formats.

If you are new to using drones for PV panel inspections, you might think that manually reviewing this data is easier and cheaper. However, examining thousands of photos or hours of video from drones requires a lot of time. The results of thermal inspections of solar power plants are reported with MapperX. The MapperX software provides world-class reporting of the data obtained from inspections in a clear and understandable format at a reasonable cost.

MapperX AI software has the capability to analyze thermal drone images of hundreds of megawatts of solar power plants much faster than manual inspections. It is much more cost-effective for MapperX to report the thermal inspection results than paying many people to review the data. For more information about “Common Misconceptions about Solar Power Plants,” you can visit the website.