Photovoltaic Panels

Photovoltaic panels inspection using infrared camera, global awareness of environmental issues has spurred intense interest in alternative energy sources. Today, solar energy is one of the most popular of these alternatives. Solar energy is simply inexhaustible, and thanks to programs supporting the construction of solar power plants, it represents a quickly growing portion of international energy production.  However, if these plants are to operate efficiently, they require high-quality installations, regular maintenance, and detailed inspections.

The Workswell WIRIS offers a fast, cheap and reliable method for the inspection of solar panels in large plants. This thermo-diagnostic camera is designed for use with UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), and it represents a major breakthrough in thermography. In fact, we expect that all photovoltaic plants will be monitored by handheld thermo-cameras in the forseeable future.

Often, defects in photovoltaic panels result in the occurrence of so-called “hotspots.” These “hotspots” indicate a recombination of electrons which can create holes in the solar cells. A significant amount of energy is released during this process and radiates into space as heat. These problem areas can heat to very high temperatures – in fact, the difference between a good cell and a defective one can be greater than 50° C. This heat can cause irreversible damage to both the defective cell and the entire panel.

Thermal cameras are an ideal solution for this issue. Hot spots are clearly visible in thermal images because they have a remarkable strong color contrast to the other solar cells and the surrounding environment. However, in many cases, it is neither efficient nor safe to carry out “hotspot” checks with a handheld thermal camera. Photovoltaic panels are often installed on pitched roofs with poor accessibility, and solar power plants are very large. Furthermore, natural obstacles such as vegetation and rough terrain often make it impossible to maneuver between panels. A drone equipped with the Workswell WIRIS thermal imaging system offers an elegant and economically efficient solution.

Previous “hotspot” and quality checks of solar cells on larger photovoltaic power plants took about two days. However, using the Workswell WIRIS, these checks can now be done within a matter of hours. The Workswell WIRIS also allows users to record precise location data via GPS, which saves a lot of time during the final processing of measurement protocol as data. The camera software allows for diagnostic information to be uniquely assigned to individual images and photovoltaic panels. Finally, users can also compile detailed geographic maps with their thermal images.