Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for Infrared Inspection of Photovoltaic Modules

Supervision and monitoring are mandatory for large PhotoVoltaic (PV) plants, because failures can cause high power loss, due to the large number of PV modules. InfraRed (IR) analysis is effective and reliable to detect anomalies or failures in PV modules, but it is time consuming and then expensive, when the infrared inspection of large PV plants is manual. The diffusion of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) equipped by infrared camera can support the fast supervision of PV plants, but the use of UAVs is regulated by international and national rules and its utilization is limited, based on geographic areas and/or authorizations. This article discusses these critical issues, directs the reader to official, national, geographic maps for the drones, and suggests technical solutions for some specific issues not considered in the technical specification for outdoor infrared thermography of PV modules. © 2022, European Association for the Development of Renewable Energy, Environment and Power Quality (EA4EPQ). All rights reserved.