Protecting Your Solar Investment: What Thermal Drone Surveys Reveal About Hidden PV Defects
For facility and asset managers, rooftop solar is expected to perform reliably for decades. However, our recent thermal drone surveys of commercial PV systems show a surprising number of installations are operating with undetected faults that impact both revenue and safety.
Defects often appear in two key phases:
Post-commissioning (0-12 months): Manufacturing defects or minor installation errors begin to manifest.
Mid-life operation (3-5+ years): Age-related component failures start to accumulate, degrading overall system performance.
Standard monitoring systems are great for tracking overall output but can miss subtle or localised problems. Thermal imaging using drone technology can identify these issues before they are detectable by traditional performance monitoring approaches.
Here are a few real-world examples our thermal surveys have uncovered:
Case 1: Critical wiring faults
On a large, recently commissioned system, we identified a string wired with reverse polarity. This critical error was causing significant performance loss and creating a potential medium- to long-term fire risk from accumulating hot spots. Crucially, it had not been flagged by the system's inverters or software. Our drone located the exact source of the problem in minutes.
Case 2: Undetected manufacturing defects
A visual inspection showed nothing unusual , but our thermal scan revealed a module with an internal fault, possibly acquired during manufacturing. Using this data, the owner secured a warranty replacement which prevented years of underperformance and removed a long-term safety risk.
Case 3: Unseen revenue loss
An older installation had an entire string disconnected that was producing zero power. Because the rest of the array was functional, monitoring dashboards appeared normal. The building owner was losing revenue daily from an easily correctable fault.
The value of proactive thermal inspection
Thermal imaging moves solar maintenance from a reactive to a proactive model. It provides a complete health assessment of your asset, allowing you to:
Identify underperforming sections of your array.
Address potential safety hazards before they escalate.
Provide concrete evidence for warranty claims.
Maximize the energy yield and financial return of your system.
Depending on the size of the array, we recommend thermographic imaging every 1-2 years.
From reactive to predictive
Rooftop solar is not a "set and forget" asset. Proactive thermal inspections provide the data needed to move from reactive maintenance to predictive asset management.
Our aerial thermography services offer:
Comprehensive & fast audits: Complete scans of large arrays in a fraction of the time of manual checks.
Early defect detection: Identification of issues like delamination, faulty bypass diodes and potential hot spots before they escalate.
Precise fault location: Pinpointing of exact modules or components requiring attention.
Is your solar portfolio being maintained for optimal performance and safety? Let's connect to discuss how thermal data can protect and enhance your investment.