Thermal Imaging Solar Panel Inspection – Hawaii
When solar panels generate electricity from sunshine, they become warm. The electrical current also warms the connecting lines and inverter boxes that handle the generated electricity. That heat will be gentle and evenly distributed in a perfectly working system. This also means that problems with your solar panels can be easily spotted using a thermal camera.
A thermal imaging solar panel inspection can identify hot and cold spots that indicate trouble with your solar panels. Every subtle shift in temperature over the panels, cables, and control boxes reveals details about the performance of your whole panel system. That is why Pacific Panel Cleaners provides certified thermal imaging solar panel inspections to help keep your panels in top condition and fix trouble spots quickly.
Solar Panel Inspection Services
Pacific Panel Cleaners is proud to offer skilled thermal imaging solar panel inspections in Hawaii. A visual check is only the first step if you need a solar panel inspection. Thermal imaging inspections provide the performance and maintenance insights you need. Hot spots light up brightly on a thermal image where small flaws like cracks, shadows, or diode malfunctions might otherwise be missed.
Pacific Panel Cleaners thermal imaging team consists of four certified thermographers, Fred Brooks, Daniel Guerland. Ryan O’Rourke and Lea Wong. Lea Wong is a certified drone thermographer. They have been inspecting and documenting solar thermal imagery in the field for over a decade and can provide a vivid picture of your solar panel performance through thermographic photography.
You will receive a clear report on your panels’ thermal performance, including a view of the panel cells, wires, and inverter/controller boxes.
What You Can Learn from Solar Panel Thermal Imaging
Some items include but not limited to-
- Even Glow = Steady Performance
- An even warm color distribution on the thermal image indicates that all components are functioning, and all wires and boxes are connected.
- Bright Spots = Intense Heat
- Hot spots appear as bright areas. This can reveal specific cell failure, obscuring shadows and working diodes due to shading.
A thermal inspection can reveal solar panel performance problems, allowing you to schedule repairs before real damage occurs. Pacific Panel Cleaners can provide routine thermal imaging solar panel inspections to keep your system in the best working order.
Get Solar Panel Thermal Imaging in Hawaii
If you need solar panel inspection, thermal imaging is the key to identifying problems precisely and early. Find certified solar thermal inspection services in Hawaii with Pacific Panel Cleaners. Our experts will take clear, professional thermal images of your solar panels and the connected electrical system to give you a clear view of current performance and maintenance.
Contact us to schedule your Hawaii solar panel inspection.
Speaking Engagements on PV Technology:
In June 2020, Fred was invited to be a panelist on the topic of “Photovoltaic systems, a great renewable energy resource that need to be inspected and maintained regularly.”read more below…
In October 0f 2019, Fred spoke to a large audience at the Identifying Issues on Installed Photovoltaic Systems. 2019 AEE Energy Conference. read more below…
In September of 2016, Fred Brooks went as the expert speaker at the Thermal Imagery Conference in Las Vegas, NV. more info below …
FLIR – Forward Looking InfraRed system
FLIR Systems, Inc. is PPC’s number one choice for all of our thermal imagery needs. Showing our customers who need to know the hidden problems that we’ve found with our FLIR thermal camera is just as important as uncovering them in the first place. FLIR Tools is the powerful software solution that helps us present these findings to our customers most effectively.
Here are some visual examples of the FLIR system technology:
Learn more about FLIR @: www.flir.com
Fred Brooks Panelist on June 9th, 2020.
Photovoltaic systems are a great renewable energy resource and they need to be inspected and maintained regularly. Inspection of the photovoltaic modules with a thermal imager is critical to identify any problems. Inspection of the balance of system ensures the items are installed properly.
If there are issues in the modules or on the balance of system this can cause a loss of energy which is a direct parallel to a loss in money. If there is a problem that goes undetected and is left in the system, it can lead to a fire which is very dangerous and is also very costly. The use of the thermal imagery with the other data collected on a site is an invaluable tool to determining the health of the installed photovoltaic system. What are we able to see? How can we tell if this is a real issue or not? What are some of the causes for the issues we can find? What can be done with some of the issues that are found? What are the conditions for conducting a proper thermal scan with true results? This tool can identify the location of microinverters or optimizers that are out and help you find them, and that is invaluable when the map is wrong.
2019 AEE World Energy Conference
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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