Why Solar PV Inspection ?
Solar Panel is not cheap, and at the same time can be vexing when it malfunctions. It should be inspected and checked regularly even if you are not expecting troubles yet to optimize its usage and benefits. Visual inspection is very difficult for solar panel inspection because you cannot see internal damage to the panel as most of them will look just fine and there could be connections that are bad. Without using Thermal Imaging, your options to see how much damage or problems are limited. Through the heat differences that can be detected by the Thermal Camera, Elite Thermography can do Solar PV Inspection with much greater efficiency to detect problems that need to be corrected.
Why do you need to take advantage of Solar Inspection Services?
✔ Detect problems that can’t be seen visually and helps in making diagnosis quicker
✔ Efficient in inspecting large-scale panel farms
✔ Prevents loss in the production because you can the accurate information if there’s a drop in the amount of energy that is being emitted by the solar panels.
✔ You can distinguish the issues on the surface of the panels or the internal components based on our report classification
✔ Improve Your Preventive Maintenance Quality and Results
✔ Test Under Load without any planned shutdown
✔ Real-Time Inspections
What are the disadvantages?
- Micro-cracks
These are tiny cracks on the panel and are hard to notice with your naked eyes. But with time and significant weather changes, the cracks can grow. The cracks mostly occur due to PV module production and thermal and seasonal conditions. They can also result from careless handling during the shipping process. That is why it is important that you hire a trustworthy professional to handle the shipping and installation with the utmost care.
- Hot spots
They can degrade the function of your solar panels and even render them irreparable. Hot spots occur when panels get too warm and overload. They are caused by several things, including the accumulation of dirt on the panels. They can also be caused by badly soldered connections, which result in low resistance in the part of the panel that generates power. This problem can lower the performance and lifespan of the solar panels.
- PID effect
PID stands for Potential Induced Degradation. It can occur due to the voltage difference between the earthing and the solar panel. When this happens, the primary power circuit ends up producing partial voltage discharge. PID effect may degrade the efficiency and performance of the panels and lower their lifespan. Luckily, a solar professional can help to reverse or prevent the problem.
- Snail trails
Snail trails usually only manifest after a few years and are caused by several factors, including defective silver paste (which is used in the manufacture of the panels). This, in turn, causes moisture, which results in oxidation between the encapsulation material and the silver paste. Also, snail trail contamination may result from microscopic cracks in the PV system. The problem reduces the performance of the solar system and causes it to fail prematurely.
- Roof issues
The solar system should not affect the integrity of your roof. Conversely, it can serve as a nice layer of protection for the roof materials below. However, in some cases, the installation can hurt your roof in some way. Make sure that you inspect your roof from time to time, and call your PV system installers if it seems to be compromised in any way.
