A drone carrying a thermal camera is the ideal tool to assess solar panel condition given that they are often placed in areas such as rooftops which means they are difficult to access. This non-destructive method of inspection minimises any health and safety risk alongside the chance of damaging roof or panels during the inspection process itself.  It is also a great deal quicker than using scaffolding or elevated platforms which makes it more cost effective.

However, having a drone and a thermal camera is only part of what is required to carry out a meaningful solar panel inspection. It is also imperative that the drone operator is trained in thermography to capture the data under the right conditions and interpret it correctly. Providing uncalibrated thermal data and not understanding the environmental conditions or physics of thermal energy generation will result in wasted time, effort, and money.

Solar panels need to be examined when under load and when sun irradiation is 600 W/m2 or greater so traditionally within the summer months. The required data collected from a thermal PV inspection can be obtained from just one simple flight for a domestic installation and may be a coupe for a larger commercial property installation. The rest of the analysis is then carried out back in the office with a solar panel report being provided that will detail any issues found.  This report can be provided directly to your maintenance company if required, in order that they can carry out repairs in a targeted manner.

Drone Media Imaging offers qualified thermographer pilots and state of the art thermal cameras that can inspect and analyse any size solar panel installation.  Simply get in touch to discuss your requirements.