solar PV panel: the Comparison between UAV Inspection and Manual Inspection

[Kimi xiong]

Hello everyone!

This is my first post, I am happy to share some solar-related information for you.

Photovoltaic inspections & maintenance mainly rely on workers to proceed infrared analysis and I-V curve testing on site. In this way, a comprehensive inspection of a 100 MW photovoltaic field will cost two workers /15- 30 days.Therefore, the huge consumption of labor and working hours has become a pain problem that has long hindered the effective operation and maintenance of photovoltaic fields.

Nowadays, relying on the big data analysis capabilities of the latest UAV& robot  technology and artificial intelligence, it is no longer a fantasy to complete the detection and analysis of a 100 MW photovoltaic power station just need three days with one worker.

Do you have any better views?

[clockmanFRA]

Sadly in the present day, today, management think that maintenance is a cost that can be eliminated, or minimalized to a state of absurdity.

I only have 20kW of Solar, but inspection and analysis of output is always important to spot a fault that may happen and rapid intervention to correct the possible fault.

At 100MW, sorry, that's a Power station, and you will require at least 4 full time qualified engineers that can deal with any situation and several good technicians that know what they are doing.

Cut down on good maintenance and a good maintenance regime, and short term you save money.

But in the long term the Solar array will become extremely costly to repair.

Installation is important, is it done correctly? are the installers qualified? are they doing it properly?. Are they following an improved installation practise.? Is the testing following a agreed and qualified procedure that can be quantified?

What about QC, what about each employee are they signing off their work? Etc, etc, All this following procedure would keep one qualified engineer continually busy. And if something fails in the future, as you have good QC controls you can kick the original installer/employees backside, and seek redress from them?

Get QC, (Quality Control,) good/correct, then maybe you can cut down on maintenance.

Just my opinion from someone in the RE (renewable energy) sector that has to operate with the GOOD and the BAD. 

[clockmanFRA]

latest UAV& robot  technology and artificial intelligence,

What are you trying to sell?

The robots that I have seen on a Solar array have little QC and a lot of time spent on their maintenance.

There is no short cuts for real qualified trained Human beings that can correct problems on the spot!

[clockmanFRA]

You have not responded to my comments. ?

And you posted other general subjects in Solar.

Please get your Quality Control sorted out!

[Kimi xiong]

You have not responded to my comments. ?

And you posted other general subjects in Solar.

Please get your Quality Control sorted out!

Dear clockmanFRA:

Thank you for your attention. I'm sorry for taking so long to reply to you.I would like to tell you about the problem of the time for solar PV inspection.

I think the duration of detection depends on what kind of drone you use.for example:

Sunwin SY165HR solar PV inspection UAV 
max flying time: 60min 
flying speed :15m/s
distance=40500M/h
inspection area side:60750KM2/H≈6 hectares
So finish 100MW inspection just need cost 38 hours/one worker

Why does it take just one worker to do it?
1.Ground station can use remote control to automatically plan UAV inspection route.
Drawing the desired route to cover the area needs to be inspected by APP. Height and speed at each road point can be specified easily with friendly GUI. Taking photos at certain pace ensure proper overlap and accuracy.

2.Collecting thermal and optical information.
The drone could fly alone the preset course fully automatically. Photos and thermal images will be taken and stored on board.

3. Processing the data and identifying defects.
The collected data will be downloaded and processed with our algorithm. All kinds of defects
can be detected such as dirt stains, bird waste, microcracks, hot spots, internal corrosion, dusty etc.

4. Generating reports.
A final report will be generated to indicate the found defects and their locations, so that
maintenance could be dispatched precisely to its location.

Above, most of the inspection process of uav solar inspection is automatic, which saves time and manpower. Only one worker is needed.

If you have any other questions, please let me know. Thank you

[clockmanFRA]

Hi, Kimi xiong,

We use a small drone here for checking the fields and animals, sheep/cows stuck in hedges/streams etc,  as we have undulating land and steep valleys, with lots of trees and big hedges. Saves my time journeying around perimeters etc, and gives clear information of my tools required for a job, like, cows out through broken fencing etc.

We particular like the .......... Hubsan 0.41Kg in total weight.
Hubsan H501S H501SS X4 Pro 5.8G FPV Brushless Avec 1080 P HD Caméra GPS RTF Suivre Me Mode Quadcopter Hélicoptère RC Drone .........

 I use Alliexpress .. ...
https://www.aliexpress.com/wholesale?catId=0&initiative_id=AS_20181101002426&SearchText=hubsan+h501s+x4


Why? because its small compact has a range of 3 to 4 miles, auto returns if signal lost, 20 minutes of flying time, has a excellent good LCD screen, SD card for Pics and Vids, has good close up stable flight ..... and importantly its under $300.

My 14 year old fly's, as it has a multitude of mode operations, far to complicated for this old duffer.

Personally a small spotter drone is excellent for Solar arrays, and at 0.41Kg has little chance of breaking PV panels, we have experimented with the Hubsan.

Each month the Drone tech gets better,  and there are constant new products. But like most things the QC is not that good so a 50/50 chance.