Solar panel thermal inspection: what the drone sees
Multimedia Gears
Apr 09, 2026
9 mins
A cell running hotter than its neighbours
A cracked or shaded cell heats up while the rest of the panel stays cool. On a radiometric thermal image it shows as a bright square, and over time it damages the panel around it.
A whole row running warm
When a string is disconnected, every panel in it stops producing and runs a few degrees warmer. From the air it reads as a uniform warm row, obvious in seconds.
Full sun, near noon, clear sky
Thermal faults only show under strong irradiance, so we fly between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. on a clear day. Clouds or low sun mean a reschedule, not a bad report.
A map the maintenance crew can walk to
Every anomaly is located by row and panel, with a thermal and a visual photo. The crew fixes what is listed instead of walking the whole array.
“A hot cell looks like nothing from the ground and like a lit window from the air.
Mathieu Roy PILOT & MAPPING SPECIALIST
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