Aerial thermal inspection of solar PV arrays — identifying failing strings, hot cells, bypass-diode faults and soiling across roof-mounted and ground-mounted systems, without walking the array.
What it covers
- Failing strings and underperforming sub-arrays
- Hot cells, hot-spots and bypass-diode faults
- Soiling, shading and debris affecting yield
- Roof-mounted and ground-mounted arrays
- Module-level anomalies, located and ranked
What you get
- Thermal anomaly map with marked modules
- Paired visible and thermal frames
- A ranked PDF of findings to prioritise O&M
- Full-resolution capture archive
Who it's for
Solar O&M and asset managers, installers under warranty obligations, and commercial or domestic owners checking array performance.
Compliant by default
Every flight is planned and flown under Recon's CAA Operational Authorisation, with A2 CofC / GVC qualified piloting, CSCS site readiness and £5M public liability cover. Each job is scoped against airspace, access, weather and permissions before we commit to a date.
Common questions
What faults can a thermal solar inspection find?
Aerial radiometric thermography surfaces temperature anomalies linked to failing strings, hot cells, bypass-diode faults, and soiling or shading losses — across whole arrays far faster than a hand-held survey. We mark and rank the anomalies for your O&M team to action.
Can you inspect ground-mounted solar farms?
Yes — large ground-mounted arrays are well suited to aerial thermal capture. The job is scoped around airspace, site access and weather, and delivered only where it can be flown lawfully and safely.