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Solevi, a German electroluminescence (EL) inspection company, has launched drone-based electrical inspection services for rooftop solar installation in Germany with plans to automate further and expand geographically.
German electroluminescence (EL) inspection company, Solevi, began offering drone-based electrical measurement services to rooftops in Germany almost a year ago.
“The services we offer are EL inspection and dark-IV-curve measurements,” Benjamin Eichel, Solevis CEO, told pv magazine, adding some examples of the drone-based inspection scenarios that Solevi typically covers, such as hail, snow load, or lightning damage surveys.
Since launching the company has also found demand for other services, such as commissioning checks with a focus on installation faults and diode defect detection services to identify open or shorted circuits, as well as string planning services using its technology to provide post-installation string plans in “the shortest possible” time.
“We do the string planning service for older systems where the original plans got lost, or at just-built systems where the installation was poorly documented, or where the installer never delivered a string plan at all,” explained Eichel.
Its field inspection system is equipped with a gimbal, a full-frame camera with an electroluminescence (EL) lens, and a Matrice multicopter-type drone made by China-based DJI. “Additionally, we use a self-developed computing unit, a radio frequency connection, and a base station. We connect and power PV strings using a self-developed contacting unit. On the software side we developed command and control software and analysis software,” said Eichel.
The German startup is developing technology to improve its inspection services. “The goal is to make EL inspection fast and cost efficient. In the field, the most important is to accelerate setup time, flying time and string connection,” said Eichel. “The most important part of software development is to accelerate evaluation and report generation. Right now, we are introducing machine learning algorithms for image analysis.”
According to the company, Solevi is the only independent service provider in Europe with authorization to fly EL drone systems over inhabited areas. While it can operate EU-wide and in Switzerland, so far Germany is the main market for its services. It is currently discussing partnerships in other European countries. |
