Within the Darkness of Night time, NREL Is Prototyping a New Machine That May Reduce Time and Prices for Inspections of Photo voltaic Installations After Doubtlessly Damaging Climate

After extreme climate occasions—like hail or main windstorms—fielded photo voltaic panels must be inspected for harm, often with both complicated electrical tools or by elimination for indoor lab testing. Typically, these inspections reveal minimal harm however nonetheless require system downtime and excessive prices to substantiate their well being.

A brand new system, developed by Nationwide Renewable Vitality Laboratory (NREL) photovoltaic reliability researchers with enter from business companions, simplifies and streamlines this course of by counting on photoluminescence—a basic property of the semiconductors in photo voltaic cells. The PLatypus gadget shines gentle on the photo voltaic cells, which then re-emit gentle again to the gadget’s cameras. Broken cells will shine much less brightly, rapidly indicating the well being of the panels.

A complete system might be checked at a fraction of the time and price beforehand required—all with none disconnection of the system’s electronics. The PLatypus gadget is beneath improvement as a part of the Sturdy Module Supplies Consortium (DuraMAT), funded by the U.S. Division of Vitality Photo voltaic Vitality Applied sciences Workplace and led by NREL.

Article from NREL, by Harrison Dreves.

I do not like paywalls. You do not like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Right here at CleanTechnica, we carried out a restricted paywall for some time, but it surely all the time felt flawed — and it was all the time robust to determine what we must always put behind there. In idea, your most unique and finest content material goes behind a paywall. However then fewer folks learn it! We simply do not like paywalls, and so we have determined to ditch ours.

Sadly, the media enterprise continues to be a troublesome, cut-throat enterprise with tiny margins. It is a endless Olympic problem to remain above water and even maybe — gasp — develop. So …