Advanced inspection of photovoltaic installations by aerial triangulation and terrestrial georeferencing of thermal/visual imagery
TL;DR: In this article, the authors proposed two different techniques for advanced inspection mapping of PV plants; aerial triangulation and terrestrial georeferencing, which were tested in two grid-connected PV systems, of a total installed power of 70.2 KWp.
About: This article is published in Renewable Energy.The article was published on 2017-03-01. It has received 78 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Orthophoto.
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TL;DR: The types and causes of PV systems (PVS) failures are presented, then different methods proposed in literature for FDD of PVS are reviewed and discussed; particularly faults occurring in PV arrays (PVA).
Abstract: Faults in any components (modules, connection lines, converters, inverters, etc.) of photovoltaic (PV) systems (stand-alone, grid-connected or hybrid PV systems) can seriously affect the efficiency, energy yield as well as the security and reliability of the entire PV plant, if not detected and corrected quickly. In addition, if some faults persist (e.g. arc fault, ground fault and line-to-line fault) they can lead to risk of fire. Fault detection and diagnosis (FDD) methods are indispensable for the system reliability, operation at high efficiency, and safety of the PV plant. In this paper, the types and causes of PV systems (PVS) failures are presented, then different methods proposed in literature for FDD of PVS are reviewed and discussed; particularly faults occurring in PV arrays (PVA). Special attention is paid to methods that can accurately detect, localise and classify possible faults occurring in a PVA. The advantages and limits of FDD methods in terms of feasibility, complexity, cost-effectiveness and generalisation capability for large-scale integration are highlighted. Based on the reviewed papers, challenges and recommendations for future research direction are also provided.
308 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a review of the photovoltaic systems, where the design, operation and maintenance are the key points of these systems, is presented. But, the authors do not focus on the operation of the PV systems.
195 citations
TL;DR: A novel method for faults detection in photovoltaic panels employing a thermographic camera embedded in an unmanned aerial vehicle and two novels region-based convolutional neural networks are unified to generate a robust detection structure is proposed.
104 citations
Cites background from "Advanced inspection of photovoltaic..."
...elaborated an advanced inspection 26 system based in UAVs and thermal images [32]....
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TL;DR: This paper presents a deep learning based solution for defect pattern recognition by the use of aerial images obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles that significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of asset inspection and health assessment for large-scale PV farms in comparison with the conventional solutions.
Abstract: The efficient condition monitoring and accurate module defect detection in large-scale photovoltaic (PV) farms demand for novel inspection method and analysis tools. This paper presents a deep learning based solution for defect pattern recognition by the use of aerial images obtained from unmanned aerial vehicles. The convolutional neural network is used in the machine learning process to classify various forms of module defects. Such a supervised learning process can extract a range of deep features of operating PV modules. It significantly improves the efficiency and accuracy of asset inspection and health assessment for large-scale PV farms in comparison with the conventional solutions. The proposed algorithmic solution is extensively evaluated from different aspects, and the numerical result clearly demonstrates its effectiveness for efficient defect detection of PV modules.
97 citations
TL;DR: Results demonstrated the superiority of the MC-NFC over the ANN-classifier and suggest that further improvements in terms of classification accuracy can be achieved by the proposed classification algorithm; furthermore faults can be also considered for discrimination.
81 citations
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors reviewed performance and degradation analysis studies of solar photovoltaic modules, accelerated aging testing under laboratory and outdoor field testing conditions, and discussed the factors affecting the performance of PV module, PV module degradation modes, stress factors responsible for degradation and current PV module qualification standard tests.
Abstract: Electricity generated using photovoltaic (PV) technology can only be economical if the PV modules operate reliably for 25–30 years under field conditions. In order to ensure such levels of reliability PV module undergo stringent qualification tests developed as per international standards by International Electro-technical Commission. These tests provide excellent information regarding module design, material and process flaws which can lead to premature failure. Even the well qualified modules are found to fail or degrade more than their expected levels when exposed to the outdoor conditions, indicating that these tests are not adequately addressing the real outdoor conditions and are not sufficient to estimate the module lifetime. Keeping in view this aspect, the performance and degradation analysis studies of solar photovoltaic modules, accelerated aging testing under laboratory and outdoor field testing conditions, are reviewed. The factors affecting the performance of PV module, PV module degradation modes, stress factors responsible for degradation, accelerated aging tests and current PV module qualification standard tests are also discussed along with recently used techniques for the failure mode analysis of PV modules. The main objective of the study is to review the literature on performance and degradation of PV modules under outdoor operation for identifying research gaps for long term reliability of PV modules and improving the PV qualification standards for various geographical and climatic conditions.
354 citations
TL;DR: The intent and history of these qualification tests, provided in this review, shows that standard module qualification test results cannot be used to obtain or infer a product lifetime.
Abstract: We review published literature from 1975 to the present for accelerated stress testing of flat-plate terrestrial photovoltaic (PV) modules. An important facet of this subject is the standard module test sequences that have been adopted by national and international standards organizations, especially those of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC). The intent and history of these qualification tests, provided in this review, shows that standard module qualification test results cannot be used to obtain or infer a product lifetime. Closely related subjects also discussed include: other limitations of qualification testing, definitions of module lifetime, module product certification, and accelerated life testing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
283 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the results of the investigations carried out on the degradation mechanisms of a crystalline silicon PV installation of 2'kWp after 12 years of exposure in Malaga, Spain.
Abstract: The long-term reliability of photovoltaic modules is crucial to ensure the technical and economic viability of PV as a successful energy source. The analysis of degradation mechanisms of PV modules is key to ensure current lifetimes exceeding 25 years. This paper presents the results of the investigations carried out on the degradation mechanisms of a crystalline silicon PV installation of 2 kWp after 12 years of exposure in Malaga, Spain. The analysis was conducted by visual inspection, infrared thermography and electrical performance evaluation. By visual inspection, the most relevant defects in the modules were identified and ranked according to their frequency. The electrical performance was assessed by comparing the characteristic parameters of the individual modules, obtained by outdoor measurements at the start and end of the exposure period. The correlation of the visual defects and the shifts in the electrical parameters was analysed. The results presented show that glass weathering, delamination at the cell-EVA interface and oxidation of the antireflective coating and the cell metallization grid were the most frequently occurring defects found. The total peak power loss, including the initial light induced degradation, was 11.5%, which corresponded almost totally to a loss in short-circuit current. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
206 citations
TL;DR: A detailed procedure for automatic supervision, fault detection, and diagnosis of possible failure sources leading to total or partial loss of productivity in grid connected PV systems is presented.
202 citations