Detecting Defects in Photovoltaic Panels With the Help of Synchronized Thermography

• Published in: IEEE transactions on instrumentation and measurement Vol. 67; no. 5; pp. 1178 - 1186
• Main Authors: Schuss, Christian, Remes, Kari, Leppanen, Kimmo, Saarela, Juha, Fabritius, Tapio, Eichberger, Bernd, Rahkonen, Timo
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York IEEE 01-05-2018; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Cameras; Current measurement; Defect; Defects; Glass; Image resolution; Infrared imagery; Infrared imaging; interconnection; Panels; photovoltaic (PV) cell; Photovoltaic cells; Power generation; PV panel; Solar cells; solar energy; synchronized thermography (ST); Temperature measurement; Thermography; Time synchronization; time-resolved thermography (TRT)
• ISSN: 0018-9456; 1557-9662
• DOI: 10.1109/TIM.2018.2809078

This paper investigates defects in photovoltaic (PV) panels, more precisely, the location of defects in PV panels. With the help of electrical verification, it is possible to verify the impact of defects on output performances. However, it is not possible to determine the location of defects in order to address the origin of problems, for example, in the manufacturing process of PV panels. In this paper, the focus lies on finding similarities in the location of defect areas in PV panels. Samples were characterized with the help of synchronized thermography and time-resolved thermography in order to obtain infrared (IR) images of PV panels. IR images are helpful to obtain a visual image on the health of PV panels, identify the position of defects, and estimate the influence of defects on the output power. This information can be useful, for example, for improving the fabrication process of PV panels.