Thermal imaging cameras help identify defects in solar cells

When solar energy panels threaten to fail, defects will usually generate heat. To detect and identify problems with photovoltaic cells, junction boxes and grid network, Carlill Energy has successfully adopted the use of thermal imaging cameras.

India-based Carlill Energy Limited has already installed a solar plant capacity of 1.5 MW across the state of Punjab. The company’s latest plant was commissioned in February 2012 in Muktsar (Eastern Punjab), in conformance with the Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) directives. The plant is said to have a high performance ratio (PR) value among the many different solar power plants in the state of Punjab.

After having an issue with a failed diode box in the recent past, Carlill Energy started to look out for a solution that was able to provide an advance warning. Based on such a warning, the company was hoping to be able to take precautionary measures and prevent incidents with failed diode boxes from happening again. After thorough research of the marketplace and based on industry feedback, the company decided to go for a Flir thermal imaging camera. Flir’s distributor Industrial Agencies, based in Chandigarh, India, provided Carlill Energy with a Flir i7 thermal camera.

Industrial Agencies also took care of training of the Carlill Energy maintenance staff. During the training, three major hot spots in junction boxes were observed. According to the maintenance staff, the failure of these connections could have hampered the plant’s power generation as well as the company’s PR.

The management team of Carlill Energy was enthusiastic about the performance of the Flir i7 camera: “We should have bought this equipment last year when we were actually commissioning this plant.” Today, the company uses three Flir i7 cameras. Next to the identification of issues with diode boxes, Carlill Energy is also using the camera for the identification of issues with PV cells and the grid network connections/terminations.

According to Satnam Singh, Maintenance Manager at Carlill Energy, the thermal imager will help him identify problematic areas and, as a result, ensure flawless supply of electricity to the grid. In addition, this will increase the overall return on investment of the company for this plant.

The company also uses the camera for the identification of issues with PV cells and the grid network connections/terminations. The camera produces instant, point-and-shoot JPEG thermal imagery that carries all required temperature data and can be stored internally or externally, sent and analysed. The unit weighs 365 g and is easy to store in a belt pouch. The cameras withstand a 2 m drop, are water splashproof and IP43-rated.

Carlill Energy also opted for the Flir Tools software, which has been designed to quickly import, edit and analyse images, and turn them into convincing, professional PDF inspection reports, ready to print or email, so users can get a ‘yes for repairs’ fast.