PV Check, the recurring inspection of your PV plant

Why a single inspection says little

One flight shows a condition on one day. Whether a module has been getting warmer for two years, whether a row is slowly falling behind or whether a finding is new, it does not show. That only becomes visible when the same plant is inspected several times in the same way.

That is what the PV Check is for. Not more technology, but the same technology at fixed intervals.

What stays the same from year to year

• the plant sketch with the module numbering, every module keeps its number
• the flight height and with it the resolution at the module
• the assessment to IEC TS 62446-3 with the same five categories
• the normalisation of the temperature difference to 1000 W/m², so that different irradiance does not distort the values
• the rule that a category above the level normal is only given when the temperature difference and a matching fault pattern occur together

This makes reports from different years genuinely comparable and not merely similar.

How it runs

• first flight, it records the initial condition and fixes the numbering
• every further flight one year later, more often if needed
• report within 24 to 48 hours after the flight
• the report includes the comparison with the previous year, what stayed the same and what is new

When it pays off

The PV Check makes sense above all when nobody sees the plant every day. That applies to plants on halls and public buildings, plants owned by municipalities and operators with several sites, and plants whose contractor warranty is running out.

Before a sale or a handover too, a series of reports is worth more than a single one, because it shows that the plant has been checked over the years.

If you run several plants, also in different countries, the same applies under a framework agreement: dates bundled by region and reports comparable with each other. More on the page For projects.

What you receive

• test report with the measurement conditions and the classification of every assessed module
• plant sketch with unchanged module numbering
• one image pair per finding, visible spectrum and thermal image of the same detail
• comparison with the previous year from the second flight onwards
• the radiometric raw data on request

Billing

Billing follows plant output in the same steps as the thermography, from € 298,80 gross for plants up to 10 kWp. From 500 kWp a daily rate applies. For several plants or a multi year agreement I make a separate offer.

What is not included

The PV Check is a contactless inspection from the air. Electrical measurements, repairs and the on site inspection of the plant belong to a qualified electrician. The report is not a certification and does not replace the recurring inspection of the electrical installation. A reliable statement needs sufficient irradiance, as a rule at least 600 W/m².

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