Aerial thermal inspection finds dead cells, broken bypass diodes, junction-box faults and wiring failures in solar installations - and structural / lightning damage on wind turbines - without taking the asset offline. Specialist drone operators across Australia bid on Hangrr.
Charter to Kangaroo Island, the Flinders Ranges and the Barossa.
A failed PV cell, a cracked bypass diode, a high-resistance connection in a string combiner, a damaged DC cable, a hot spot from soiling concentration - all read as a temperature anomaly. Visual inspection misses every one of them. A 50 MW solar farm flown thermally in a single 4-hour shift surfaces every panel-level defect in the array, georeferenced to the row / panel / cell, with severity grading.
Industry norm for utility-scale and commercial rooftop is annual thermal inspection, usually at the peak-irradiance season (Nov-Feb in Australia) when temperature anomalies are most visible. Post-event inspection after hail, severe storm or known electrical fault is also common. Many asset operators tie inspections into the warranty maintenance cycle to capture defects before warranty deadlines.
Wind turbine inspection covers blade condition (lightning damage, leading-edge erosion, structural cracks), nacelle exterior, tower welds and bolt-up zones, foundation and access platforms. Thermal adds value on generator and gearbox heat-signature deviation, plus internal cable / electrical hotspots. A drone inspection lets a turbine stay online during inspection; rope-access requires shut-down.
Beyond panel inspection, thermal drone work surfaces hot connections, failing arresters, and degraded insulators on transmission and substation equipment. Energised-asset inspection requires operators trained for the environment - they'll declare experience and certifications in the bid.
Don’t wait for a perfect listing - request a solar & wind thermal inspection from Adelaide and operators in your region will bid.
Request a flight →A modern drone with a thermal payload covers 5-10 MW per hour at the resolution needed for cell-level defect detection. A 50 MW site typically completes in a single day; 200 MW in 3-5 days depending on weather windows.
No - thermal inspection happens with the array operating under load (that's when defects show). The opposite of electrical string testing, where you typically isolate.
Per-defect: location (GPS + array position), thermal image with temperature delta, RGB image of the same panel, severity grading, suggested action (clean, replace, investigate further). Usually delivered as a PDF + spreadsheet + GeoTIFF.
Yes - operators retain georeferenced data so year-on-year comparison shows defect progression, new failures, and degradation trends across the array.
Verified operators bid within hours. Pay securely through escrow.