Solar Farm Drone Thermal Inspection in Alberta

UAV Imaging is launching a solar farm drone thermal inspection service throughout Alberta — the quickest, most efficient way to identify and document defects.

Posted by Jason Field · Jan 8 '24 · UAV Imaging Inc.

Key takeaways

A new Alberta-wide solar inspection service

This spring, UAV Imaging is launching a solar farm drone thermal inspection service throughout Alberta. It is the quickest and most efficient method for identifying and documenting defects and malfunctions. This can be part of a regular maintenance schedule, warranty, or hand-over process.

Maximizing solar farm efficiency

Solar farm efficiency is the key to maximizing energy outputs and return on your solar farm investment. There is no faster method for spotting faulty solar panels/strings in need of repair and getting your project back to peak efficiency. We use state of the art drone technology and leverage the latest software systems to collect and analyze your data. This is the premier service for drone captured solar farm thermal inspection in Alberta.

Drone-mounted thermal camera scanning rows of ground-mounted solar panels on an Alberta solar farm, with warmer panels showing as bright hot spots in the infrared view.
A radiometric thermal pass over an Alberta solar array makes underperforming panels glow brighter than their healthy neighbours — the fastest way to flag a fault for the asset team.
Thermal signature of a faulty panel One hot module stands out against a uniform, cool array — illustrative. ! hot spot flagged cool hot Cooler = panel producing normally. Hot = cell or string fault to inspect.
Illustrative thermal map of a solar array: most modules read cool and uniform while one flagged panel runs hot — the signature of a failed cell, bypass diode, or string outage. Schematic for explanation only; not actual survey imagery.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does drone thermal inspection on a solar farm actually detect?
Failed cells, hot spots, bypass diode failures, string-level outages, soiling patterns, vegetation encroachment and physical damage. Each anomaly is geo-tagged for the asset team.
How long does a solar farm inspection take?
A 1 MW site typically finishes in half a day. Utility-scale 50+ MW sites need 2-5 days depending on layout, access and weather.
How rigorous is the thermal record?
Every module is scanned with radiometric thermal imagery. Flight conditions (irradiance, ambient temperature, wind, equipment, operator) are logged, and anomalies are severity-ranked and geo-tagged for warranty-grade reporting.
What deliverable formats are available?
Annotated thermal report, GeoTIFF imagery, defect spreadsheet, GIS shapefile and a CMMS-ready import file for the asset team.
Book a solar farm thermal inspection Fast, documented drone thermal scanning across Alberta — find faulty panels and restore peak efficiency. Request a quote → or call 587-532-9000