Thermal imaging of damaged photovoltaic panels

Can thermal images detect solar panel damage?

This study proposes a method for detecting and localizing solar panel damage using thermal images. The proposed method employs image processing techniques to detect and localize hotspots on the surface of a solar panel, which can indicate damage or defects.

Can thermal imaging be used to identify a solar PV module?

One of the significant challenges is the fault identification of the solar PV module, since a vast power plant condition monitoring of individual panels is cumbersome. This paper attempts to identify the panel using a thermal imaging system and processes the thermal images using the image processing technique.

Does a thermal image indicate a fault in a PV panel?

Considering that the change of the visual image does not necessarily mean the presence of a fault in a PV panel, the thermal image of the PV panel is more favoured in the practice of PV panel condition monitoring (Kandeal et al., 2021a).

How does thermal imaging improve solar damage detection?

Adding heatmap images to the detection system improves the accuracy of solar damage detection, and thermal imaging is applied to location heatmaps to obtain a simulation of the solar panel surface temperature distribution accuracy, making it easier to identify and diagnose problems.

Can thermal imaging be used to identify PV panel failure points?

In , the authors have verified that high accuracy fault identification is possible by performing thermal imaging analysis of PV panels and using radiation sensors. V. Kirubakaran et al. use a thermal imaging system combined with image processing to record PV panel failure points. ... ...

How accurate is thermal imaging in identifying damage in solar panels?

The model achieved a mean average precision (mAP) score of 0.69 during the training phase, which is regarded to be on the higher end. This suggests that thermal imaging have a relatively good accuracy in identifying and localizing damage in solar panels.