A Guide to Solar Panel Drone Inspection

Drones have become an essential tool for solar panel inspections. Drones collect the data more than 50 times faster than manual methods and it improves safety by avoiding dangerous man-hours.

Drones versus Manual Methods

  • Solar panel inspections are already happening, but it is still performed manually using hand-held thermal cameras.
  • A thermal camera can help to identify the manufacturing defects, cracks, faulty inter-connectors, defective bypass diodes, and temporary shadowing.
  • Hand-held and manual inspections are good but this process is not as efficient to identify all problems. Fly forward the drone is advanced technology. It is faster and more accurate for capturing the data and also helps to improve safety.

 In short, there are some of the advantages of drones that are a superior inspection method compared to traditional or handheld techniques:

  • Increase efficiency: Drones collect data more than 50 times faster than manual methods. Solar farms are typically very large installations, so the drone with an appropriate thermal camera can scan the site for defects. It is much faster than using a thermal camera on the ground.
  • Get good quantity & quality information: Manual processes might miss the efficient issues.
  • Avoid hazardous man-hours: To handle the surveys and inspections without being exposed to potential danger.
  • Reduce costs: It may not only affect the inspection but also the maintenance and equipment.
  • Store, track & distribute data: We can manage the data with a secure portal using the drone, and it’s convenient for reporting.

For increasing the efficiency and enhancing data capture, drones have major advantages. We should thank to the sophisticated payloads that they can carry. Drones inspect the solar panel and obtain both thermal and RGB (visible light) data. Thermal imaging is essential for solar panel inspections. RGB is crucial to give a complete picture of what is happening on your site. Solar panel installations are rising throughout the world but it can increase the work in inspections. After all, drones are a more effective solution than traditional, hand-held manual techniques. While using the drone in inspection firms, it can increase efficiency and enhance safety. It can also capture the incredibly accurate data.

Conclusion: As per the above-described point, we can conclude that solar panel drone inspection is more difficult with large area using the hand held equipment. Nowadays drone technique is available for inspections and there are many advantages of drones compare to traditional techniques.