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Identifying Issues on Installed Photovoltaic Systems. By Fred Brooks.

Evolution of PV System Maintenance 

• With all things there is an evolutionary processIn 2009 I started operating the first company in Hawaii solely dedicated to Photovoltaic System maintenance. After a few years I knew there was more to the inspections than meets the eye, and that is when I first became a certified thermographer. That was in 2012. This was the natural next evolutionary step

General Conditions for an Inspection

  • The Photovoltaic system needs to be up and operating
  • We need a basic understanding of the PV system. Is it a central inverter, micro inverter or an optimizer system?
  • We want to ideally have clear skies
  • We are looking to have an irradiance greater than 500 w/m2
  • You can see anomalies at any level but 500 w/m2 and greater is where you can really see the anomalies pop
  • The main concept is to realize you are looking for anomalies on the system in relationship to the rest of the system, as the equipment should have a uniform heat signature in relationship to each other.

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