L R AS Published on Saturday 16 July 2016 - n° 155 - Categories:the manufacturers
The use of drones for the maintenance of PV power plants is set to develop rapidly.
At Intersolar North America, a partnership has been signed between DroneDeploy, a software platform provider for commercial UAVs, and DJI, a manufacturer of UAVs and imaging technology: the inspection of solar panels by UAVs will be developed. It enables the capture and analysis of thermal images.
These companies say that customers will cut the time it takes to check a solar installation by almost half, and reduce the time it takes to take measurements to just a few minutes. Technicians will pilot the drone using a smart phone to take measurements. The measurements will be sent to a DroneDeploy data analysis centre. This technology reduces the risk of measurement errors and simplifies the maintenance of existing systems: using the drone reduces the cost of installing a solar roof.
The American company Duke Energy is already testing infrared cameras mounted on drones to detect malfunctions in the solar panels and make it possible to repair them more quickly.
For the time being, the drone must be used in the operator's field of vision in the United States. In Europe, some states allow inspections out of the operator's field of vision
The thermal image taken by the UAV ensures that the equipment is in the optimum position for the highest production.
Green Tech Media of 15 July
