Solar Panel hotspots using Thermal Imaging

The naked eye cannot see or identify a failed solar panel. The continuous growth of the solar industry brings an ever-expanding base of solar installations. While many solar panels are expected to provide a 20-year life span, this is often not the case with cheaper quality solar panels, but even high-quality panel can fail prematurely. thermography technology can save time and make troubleshooting solar panel installations an easy and cost-effective service. Thermal imaging cameras look for panel hotspots. Overheated cells can damage the casing material and cause delamination. When modules overheat due to shading, defective cells, or substrings these overheating components consume energy instead of producing energy, the module efficiency can drop by around .5% per degree Celsius. Where do the hotspots come from? Shade on the module or a defective cell can change the module from power production to power consumption resulting in heating the cell which will show as a hotspot in a thermal image. A defective or mismatched bypass diode may cause the same effect. Solar panel hotspots create two issues: * Fall in overall power production since cells consume power instead of producing. * Power consumption continues to heat up cells and affect the production of neighboring cells. Feel free to leave comments on this video. 0:00 Intro: Why Solar Panel Inspections Matter 0:11 The Importance of Pre-Warranty Inspections 0:26 Not All Panels Last 20 Years 0:36 How Thermography Saves Time & Money 0:44 Global Panel Quality Varies Greatly 1:00 Installation Quality Depends on the Installer 1:15 Thermal Imaging Proves Defect-Free Delivery 1:31 ROI Calculations Can’t Predict Failures 1:43 Get Certified Thermography Scans (e.g., Efficiency Matrix) 1:52 10°C Hotspot = ~5% Power Loss 2:01 Clean Panels + Drone Inspections = Best Results 2:18 Detect Mismatched Panels & Overheated Connections 2:31 Act Before Warranty Expires 2:46 Ensure Panels Are Accessible for Maintenance 2:59 Shading or Bad Cells = Hotspots & Power Loss 3:14 Common Solar Panel Issues Detected by Thermal Imaging 3:43 When to Schedule a Survey 3:54 Get a Full Building + Solar System Audit #solarsystemsurvey #whatshouldyouknowaftergoingsolar #getyoursolarsystemchecked