Solar Farm Thermal Inspection by Drone in Jordan

Solar farm thermal inspection by drone in Jordan locates failing modules, hot cells, bypass-diode faults, and string-level problems in a single morning flight — work that would take a ground crew with a handheld camera one to two weeks. A typical 5 MW plant takes about 60–90 minutes of flight time and delivers a full anomaly report with severity rankings within 3–5 working days.

Why drone thermal beats handheld for PV plants

Three reasons: speed (5 MW in under 90 minutes), coverage (every module from a consistent angle), and integration (the report stacks directly into your O&M tracker). Handheld thermography misses panels that drones see; drones miss DC-side detail that handhelds catch — together they’re complementary, but drones run first.

Anomalies a thermal scan finds

The main categories: single-cell hot spots (cell crack or hot-shadow), full-module heating (bypass diode failure or string fault), partial module heating (bird droppings, soiling, bypass), and connector/junction-box overheats. Each gets a thermal image and a GPS-tagged location.

Best time of day to fly a PV plant

Mid-morning to early afternoon at irradiance above 600 W/m² and clear sky. We schedule flights when the sun loads modules enough to expose faults, but avoid wind that would shake the imagery. In Jordan, that’s typically 9 AM–1 PM in spring and autumn.

Deliverables your O&M team can act on

You receive: a tagged orthomosaic showing every flagged module, individual radiometric thermal images per finding, a CSV with GPS coordinates and severity, a string-level fault summary, and a one-page executive summary. Repair priority is colour-coded.

Pricing per MW for Jordan PV plants

Single-flight thermal scans in Jordan run 200–350 JOD per MW for plants up to 10 MW, dropping to 120–180 JOD per MW for plants above 20 MW. Annual contracts with two flights per year (pre- and post-summer) get a discounted unit rate.

How often to scan for max ROI

Most Jordan PV plants get the best ROI with two annual flights: one before the summer peak (catch faults before they’re amplified by heat) and one after (catch heat-induced failures). Quarterly is the maximum useful frequency for utility-scale plants.

Solar farm thermal — typical findings

Finding	Likely cause	Action
Single-cell hotspot	Cell crack / micro-fracture	Replace module
Full-module heat	Bypass diode failure	Replace junction box / module
Sub-module band heat	Bypass active (shading / soiling)	Clean / investigate shading
String dark	String fault / open circuit	Trace DC fault
Hot connector	Loose / corroded connector	Re-terminate

Frequently Asked Questions

How long does a solar farm thermal scan take?

A typical 5 MW plant in Jordan takes 60–90 minutes of flight time. Larger utility-scale plants take a full day. The full report with CSV is delivered 3–5 working days after the flight.

How accurate is the temperature reading?

Radiometric sensors deliver about ±2°C accuracy on PV modules — enough to classify and rank anomalies. We flag any reflection or low-irradiance frames for verification.

Do plants need to be shut down for the scan?

No. The plant must be operating at irradiance above ~600 W/m² for faults to show thermally. We fly during normal operation.

Does the report integrate with our O&M tracker?

Yes — we deliver the findings as a CSV with GPS coordinates, severity, and thumbnail thermal images, ready to import into common O&M trackers.

Can you scan in summer?

Yes — but we time flights for early morning to avoid extreme module temperatures washing out subtle differences. Pre- and post-summer flights typically deliver the most actionable data.