Thermal Drone Solar Array and Photovoltaic Inspection Services

One of the most popular uses for drone thermography is solar panel array inspection. As a drone’s biggest advantage is its ability to quickly cover large areas, this makes a lot of sense. A drone thermographer can image hundreds of acres of solar fields in a fraction of the time it would take to chase down anomalies the old-fashioned way.

Solar Panel Inspection:

Solar Panels: Inspect solar panel arrays for functionality, shorts, overheating, and other damage. We typically follow the IEC 62446-1 which is an international standard for testing, documenting, and maintaining grid-connected photovoltaic systems. It sets standards for how system designers and installers of grid-connected PV systems.

Large Solar Arrays:

Inspecting large solar arrays and grids can be time-consuming, expensive, and dangerous. Using drones to speed up the inspections of these properties can make roof inspections faster, safer, and less expensive. However, equipping these drones with additional technologies beyond regular visible cameras, such as thermal imaging cameras that allow the operator to see infrared energy invisible to the naked eye, brings additional benefits that make this type of inspection invaluable. Thermal, or infrared, imaging uses specialized cameras to make still images and videos of the differing amounts of thermal energy being emitted or reflected from the surface. We utilize a FLIR T865, FLIR E96, and DJI Mavic Thermal Drone 3T.

Thermal Drone Inspections:

Whether inspecting substations, switchyards, or transmission and distribution lines, there are scores – if not hundreds – of connections, fuseddisconnects, insulators, splices, dead ends, and more that need routine inspection. Checking these from a drone has two primary benefits – speed and safety. Drone inspections let crews quickly scan large areas to find potential issues that need to be investigated further, and they keep crews safely out of range of energized equipment.