Solar Panel Inspection

Solar panels are commonplace across the whole of the United Kingdom, we find them atop commercial property, residential buildings and across vast expanses of land, collecting the sun's ultra violet rays and converting them into electricity. The sun is a truly renewable resource. We use the term truly as some resources are merely marketed as renewable when in reality they are about as sustainable as burning fossil fuels. That conversation is absolutely important and we will revisit it at a later time.

Let's get into it - the aim of this post is to show how drones are used to help these critical assets remain operational and continue to efficiently generate renewable energy.

How Does Solar Power Work?

"Solar power works by converting energy from the sun into power. There are two forms of energy generated from the sun for our use – electricity and heat.

These are generated through the use of solar panels.

Solar panels are usually made from silicon installed in a metal panel frame with a glass casing. When photons, or particles of light, hit the thin layer of silicon on the top of a solar panel, they knock electrons off the silicon atoms.

This PV charge creates an electric current (specifically, direct current or DC), which is captured by the wiring in solar panels. This DC electricity is then converted to alternating current (AC) by an inverter. AC is the type of electrical current used when you plug appliances into normal wall sockets." - National Grid Group PLC

Recent roof survey - Colchester, UK

How Do Drones Help to Maintain Solar Panels?

Maintenance of solar panels is frequently overlooked as they are often inaccessible due to their placement. Out of sight, out of mind.

However, this can be easily remedied by using a drone to capture data from 100% of the solar array without the need for a person to work at height.

Faults in solar panels occur during installation or over a period of time causing a reduction in efficiency and in some instances a fire risk.

Drones equipped with thermal sensors can detect anomalies within an array that are invisible to the naked eye.

Hot Spot - Thermal sensor

Hot Spot - Visual Sensor

The above example from a recent roof survey illustrates how a thermal sensor can be used to highlight a hot spot in the system. A switch to the visual camera allows us to identify the reason - bird droppings.

Whilst this doesn't seem like a significant issue to the naked eye, the hotspot was 20°C above operating temperature. Due to this, the cell is consuming energy as opposed to generating it.

Why Do Hotspots Appear?

Hotspots occur for a number of reasons -

• Partial shading
• Debris on the panel (example above)
• Cell mismatches
• Damage or poor quality of the cell

If left unresolved the panel will not operate efficiently and will degrade at a faster rate, leading to down time and costly repair expenses, not to mention presenting a fire risk.

Full View exists to make processes like solar panel inspection cost effective, efficient and accessible for everyone.

We provide access to cutting edge visual and thermal sensors to help maintain and future proof your asset.

Contact us today to find a solution that works for you.