Aerial Thermographic Inspection of Photovoltaic Plants: Analysis and Selection of the Equipment
Abstract
In recent times, more and more countries are choosing the alternative of generating clean energy. The photovoltaic (PV) energy installed is rapidly increasing around the World. PV cells are made with semiconductor materials such as Si, GaAs, among others. Despite the quality controls in the manufacture and manipulation of the panels, damages occur during their manufacturing, installation, use or of wear due to environmental factors, doing it necessary a periodic review. Manual inspections become expensive and largely inefficient due to the big extensions of PV plants. For this reason, it is necessary to automate the inspection task. This paper presents a methodology for the selection of equipment used to make inspections of faults in solar panels using aerial thermography, based on the review of the state of the art and the latest equipment technology available.