Aerial Inspections of Solar Panels
Parhelion Aerospace inspects solar panels for defects that can affect power output, using thermal and visual drone imagery.
(For comprehensive buildings inspections – go here.)
Drone thermal infrared imagery can easily detect temperature differences that may indicate failing components, as seen here, where the brighter cells within the panels are hotter than their neighbouring, darker cells.
An inevitable truth: solar panels need periodic attention to maintain peak performance.
What’s more, defects can worsen as long as they go undetected and un-repaired. Defects go undetected because thorough, effective inspections are not always performed with regularity.
This results in:
- Increased maintenance costs. Some defects that would be easy to fix today become expensive and sometimes even dangerous problems when left to tomorrow.
- Lost power. Poorly maintained panels with accumulated defects grow more energy inefficient over time, delivering less power output and wasting solar energy as heat (which is in fact why a thermal camera can “see” defects).
- Increased climate impact. More energy is required to be obtained from traditional sources when a solar installation is running inefficiently.
Panel defects can be seen as single-cell or multi-cell thermal anomalies, as in the drone image on the left, or as heated junction boxes, bypassed substrings, possible bypass diode failures, combiner box or even inverter failures, as seen in the left and right sides of the image on the right. All of these indications can be detected by drone thermal imagery.
Drone inspections can also reveal physical damage to rooftop solar installations, such as the “flipped” panel shown in the left image here, as well as objects that cover panels and degrade their performance, such as the long cable in the upper right photo and the dirt on the panels in the lower right thermal image.
Delay can be costly.
Waiting to fix defective panels may increase the eventual costs associated with repairs or replacements, but a possibly larger issue occurs while your solar power system is performing sub-optimally: you may not be receiving all of the power that you should be getting. We can perform the (rapid and inexpensive) aerial inspections that will inform and guide your management of your solar power program. Contact us to discuss how this can be done.
The Solution: periodic and thorough solar panels inspections.
- Periodic, (e.g. annual) because new defects arise with time and old, unrepaired defects can worsen.
- Thorough, because partial inspections tell only part of the story and missed defects would thereby go un-repaired.
Why use drones to perform the inspections?
- Aerial inspections by drones are inexpensive compared to hiring specialists to examine the units with hand-held imagers.
- Using drones is safer, particularly when the panels are located on the roof – no risk of anyone falling off.
- Using drones is quicker. Drone inspections require only a few hours (at most) to produce comprehensive results.
- Drones are more thorough – they don’t “miss” areas because of fatigue or error.
- Using drones for inspections creates a digital record of your solar panel array that can be used to track changes in the condition of your panels over time. This can be helpful for insurance or warranty claims as well as for the overall management of your power program.
Hiring a professional who inspects your panels using a thermal infrared-capable drone will therefore save both time and money, and will provide more comprehensive results than doing it the old-fashioned way would, all with increased safety.
The Company providing the service:
Parhelion Aerospace GmbH – takes the visual and thermal drone images, analyses the data and provides a thorough report of the results.
- Parhelion is located in Evilard (BE), Switzerland.
- The company is registered in the Commercial Register of Canton Bern since 2011 – and has provided UAV (drone) services since 2016.
- The SORA authorization to conduct unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) flight operations has been granted to Parhelion Aerospace by the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation/FOCA (Bundesamt für Zivilluftfahrt/BAZL). This is the most comprehensive drone operations permit available in Switzerland or the EU, and permits Parhelion to operate even in urban environments.
- Parhelion operations are insured for liability by Zurich AG for double the amount required by Swiss law.
- Our clients include Biel businesses, like itreas GmbH, as well as companies elsewhere in Switzerland, like Nomoko AG in Zürich and Enaio GmbH, in Bern.
- Our new and advanced drone equipment have the latest in visual and thermal IR imaging capabilities.
- Our pilot possesses the STS-01/STS-02 and the A1/A3+A2 Swiss (BAZL) Remote Pilot Certificates, the USA (FAA) Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate and the ISO 18436-7 Cat 1 Infrared Thermography course certificate.
How it works:
First: data are collected at your location.
- Parhelion Aerospace will fly a sophisticated, modern UAV (drone) at your solar power site, on one or more precise, pre-planned, automated flights.
- All flights will be conducted with strict adherence to BAZL regulations.
- All flights are insured in accordance with Swiss law.
- A large number of hi-resolution photographs and thermal images will be taken at regular intervals during the flight(s).
- Data collection will take only a couple of hours for most sites, and will not require any assistance except possible access to the roof, if your panels are located there.
Second: a comprehensive report is produced.
- Parhelion will provide you with an easy-to-understand report that will clarify the state of health of your solar panels.
- This report will include specific details about individual panels and any anomalous cells that were discovered.
- The information contained in the report will amount to a good guide to addressing further, specific investigations, eventual repairs and insurance or warranty claims.
Parhelion is able to inspect your solar power array regardless of size. This compound image shows the locations of two inspections that we recently did in Canton Bern – big or small, we can inspect your site.
Some of our recent projects:
Large-scale thermal anomalies, Wiler bei Seedorf (BE)
A displaced panel, Ecuvillens (FR)
Solar PV Inspections reveal thermal anomalies in modules, Bisikon (ZH)
A large rooftop PV system on a set of commercial buildings, Grenchen (SO)
A small rooftop PV system on a commercial building, Zollikofen (BE)
A barn-top PV system, Weidlisbach (BE)
Solar PV Inspections reveal thermal anomalies and a displaced panel, Stüsslingen (SO)
Thermal anomalies associated with a cable laying on the modules, Selzach (SO)
A large rooftop PV system on a commercial building, Rüdtligen-Alchenflüh (BE)
A small residential rooftop PV system with a shading anomaly, Oppligen (BE)
A large barn-top PV system, Oberbottingen (BE)
A small barn-top PV system with considerable bird-droppings, Bisikon (ZH)
Contact us to discuss how you can satisfy your solar power system inspections requirements. Remember:
- Periodic inspections will give you an excellent overview of the health of your solar power system.
- Finding issues before they become problems is a key practise of a well-organized management operation.
37 years of professional aviation experience.
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Parhelion Aerospace GmbH
is a registered Swiss company (registry of Canton Bern), and is also registered with the Swiss Bundesamt fur Zivilluftfahrt (BAZL) as a commercial drone operator.
Parhelion’s operations and aircraft are insured in accordance with Swiss law by Zürich Versicherungs-Gesellschaft AG.