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Cutting-edge drone services! From FPV cinematography to thermal inspections, we bring your vision to life.
Ground-mounted photovoltaic system
Rooftop photovoltaic system
Canopy photovoltaic system
Floating photovoltaic system
Commercial and utility-grade PV systems are installed in a variety of ways: ground-mounted, rooftop, canopy, and floating. Each of these configurations, no matter their size, can easily be inspected with drone thermography. From small kW (kilowatt) installations to the world’s largest solar facilities encompassing hundreds of MW’s (megawatts). With the proper equipment and trained crew members, drones can provide unmatched value for a wide variety of solar assets.
A trait commonly seen on groundmounted systems, tilt-trackers, direct solar modules towards the sun over the course of the day, maximizing energy capture. When performing an aerial inspection on a PV system equipped with these devices, a common misconception is the need to place the tracker system in stow mode. This practice is not required or necessary, as the PIC can easily adjust the camera’s gimbal pitch, allowing for seamless data capture throughout the day. Which in turn means plant operations can run as normal, with no shutdowns or loss in revenue.
Hardware & Software Requirements
Drones used in solar inspections are equipped with high-resolution cameras and thermal imaging sensors that can capture detailed images and video of solar panels. To properly perform these inspections, there are certain hardware and software requirements that must be met.
DRONE SYSTEM
The first requirement for a solar drone inspection is a suitable drone system. There are a variety of drone systems on the market that can perform solar inspections, but not all of them will produce the data and deliverables needed for the inspection at hand.
When selecting a drone system for solar inspections, it is important to consider the following factors:
Payload Capacity: The drone must be able to carry the weight of the thermal camera and other payloads.
Flight Time: The complete UAS used should be capable of having a total flight time to cover the entire installation. Multiple batteries with greater battery capacity equals less time wasted swapping and charging batteries and more time flying. Less total battery capacity means longer inspection times
Transmission Range: There must be a sufficient data link communication between the drone and remote controller. Allowing the aircraft to fly within visual line of sight of the crew and achieve a lossless video stream to the tablet.
GPS : The drone must be equipped with GPS for navigation and mapping purposes.
Enterprise Grade: Commercial drones are highly specialized and required for professional inspections.
Flight Speed: A pilot must use a delicate balance to find the proper flight speed. Too fast will cause motion blur in images and lower the quality of the data. Too slow will result in the inspection taking longer than necessary.
Extreme Weather Conditions: Must be able to handle extreme heat and temperatures. This is especially important as solar installations are strategically located in areas of high solar radiation. A drone system that cannot handle extreme heat temperatures is not ideal.
Cell Hot Spot anomaly affecting two modules
THERMAL CAMERA
A thermal camera is a critical piece of equipment for solar drone inspections as it allows for the detection of thermal anomalies on solar panels. Thermal cameras can be used to identify many issues on damaged or defective panels, such as Hot Spots, which are areas of high heat that can indicate an electrical issue
To get the most out of a thermal camera, it is important to understand the key performance requirements, including resolution, radiometric capabilities, lens quality, and frame rates. Additionally, thermal cameras should be integrated well with RGB cameras to provide a complete record of the inspection.
Reverse Polarity anomaly affecting multiple modules
When using a thermal camera for solar inspections, it is important to consider the following factors
Lens: The lens affects the focus (sharpness) of the image. A good quality lens will produce a clear image with minimal distortion or refraction.
Thermal Sensitivity: The thermal camera must be sensitive enough to detect small temperature differences, different sensors are capable of different sensitivity levels.
Frame Rates: The frame rate of a thermal camera is the number of images that the camera can take per second. A higher frame rate means that the camera can capture more detail. For solar inspections, a frame rate of at least 30 FPS is typically required
Radiometric: Radiometric thermal cameras can measure the absolute temperature of an object, rather than just its relative temperature. This is important for solar inspections as it allows for more accurate identification of anomaly severit
Integration with RGB Cameras: Many solar inspection drones are equipped with both thermal and RGB cameras. The thermal camera is used to identify potential defects, while the RGB camera is used for verification of false positives. It is important that the thermal and RGB cameras are correctly calibrated so that the images from both cameras can be accurately aligned.
Field of View: The thermal camera should have a wide field of view to cover a large portion of the installation or array at the intended altitude for the flight.
Resolution: Resolution in thermal imaging is quite different from visible light cameras. The resolution of a thermal camera is typically measured in terms of the number of pixels in the detector. More pixels means that the camera can resolve finer details. For solar inspections, a resolution of at least 640x512 is typically required to be able to distinguish finite defects such as cracks and hotspots.
FLIGHT PLANNING
Once the drone system and thermal camera have been selected, the next step is to plan the inspection flight. Flight planning software can automate the drone inspection process allowing a drone to fly on a predetermined path along the solar rows.
The flight plan should be designed to cover the entire solar installation and allow for the capture of high-quality images and video.
Depending on the software being used, the flight plan can be executed on a tablet or mobile device or uploaded directly to the drone. After the flight is programmed, most flight planning software systems will then allow for autonomous flight
After the inspection flight has been completed, the next step is to postprocess the images or video. This can be done using a computer software program that is specifically designed for solar drone inspections.
Drones create an enormous amount of data that must be reviewed and converted into usable formats. It is technically possible to manually review the data, but as flights have become more complex and the datasets larger, artificial intelligence and machine learning have become much more efficient and accurate than humans at analyzing drone inspection data.
Post-processing for solar thermal inspections involves collecting and processing thousands of images that can then be used to generate actionable reports for those who manage portfolios of solar assets. This is an important part of the inspection process that will convert data into accurate, useful, and shareable analytic reports that help owners maintain and optimize the physical condition of their assets.
In the final step, deliverables for the inspection can be produced from the final post-processing results. This can include downloaded inspection findings, financial impact reports on anomalies, interactive maps, and customized performance impact reports.
To perform a solar drone inspection, there are certain hardware and software requirements that must be met. These requirements include a suitable drone system, a thermal camera, and a well-equipped software application for postprocessing the images and video.
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