This solar farm thermographic inspection was delivered by SKYNOX Drones SL, a Lanzarote-based aerial inspection provider, with Drone Media Imaging acting as their Level 3 analysis and reporting partner. The site was a ground-mounted photovoltaic installation of approximately 1.97 megawatts, comprising 4,338 modules across three array zones. SKYNOX collected the survey data on site under the Drone Media Imaging Level 3 Data Collection Protocol, and Drone Media Imaging carried out all thermal analysis, anomaly classification and reporting to full IEC 62446-3:2017 compliance from the UK. Seven anomalies were identified in total, an exceptionally low detection rate for an installation of this size. The most significant finding was a checkerboard thermal pattern across two independent strings, consistent with reverse polarity or anti-parallel wiring, classified as a Safety consequence and flagged for priority electrical investigation. The inspection demonstrates how a local provider and a Level 3 partner can together deliver standards-compliant solar thermography across international distances, supporting the growth of well-maintained solar capacity in Lanzarote and the wider Canary Islands.
Project Overview
Subject
solar farm thermographic inspection, ground-mounted solar PV, SKYNOX Drones Lanzarote, Level 3 analysis partner, IEC 62446-3:2017
Skills Used
Level 3 Report Writing, Data Collection Protocols, Qualitative Thermal Analysis
Portfolio Tags
Solar PV Inspection, Ground-Mounted Solar, SKYNOX Drones, Level 3 Partnership, IEC 62446-3, Lanzarote, Renewable Energy, What Is Reverse Polarity In Solar?
Solar PV Inspection Lanzarote, Level 3 Solar Thermography Partner, IEC 62446-3 Remote Analysis And ReportingSolar PV Inspection Lanzarote, Level 3 Solar Thermography Partner, IEC 62446-3 Remote Analysis And Reporting
Solar Farm Thermographic Inspection with SKYNOX Drones in Lanzarote
~ A Lanzarote solar inspection, delivered by SKYNOX Drones and analysed at Level 3 by Drone Media Imaging. ~
Governing Standards
- IEC 62446-3:2017 The international standard for thermographic inspection of photovoltaic modules and plants, applied here as a simplified qualitative survey.
- ISO 18436-7:2014 The personnel certification standard for thermographic condition monitoring, underpinning the Level 3 analysis and reporting.
- ISO 9712:2021 The qualification and certification framework for non-destructive testing personnel.
A partnership built on Level 3 standards
How Do SKYNOX Drones and Drone Media Imaging Work Together?
Solar generation is expanding rapidly across Lanzarote and the Canary Islands, where high year-round irradiance makes photovoltaic installations particularly productive. As that capacity grows, so does the need for rigorous inspection to keep these assets performing safely and efficiently. SKYNOX Drones SL provide exactly that service on the island, delivering aerial thermographic inspection of solar installations for their clients, and they approached this project for one of their own customers: a ground-mounted solar farm of approximately 1.97 megawatts across 4,338 modules.
For the analysis and reporting layer of this inspection, SKYNOX Drones worked in partnership with Drone Media Imaging, who acted as their Level 3 analysis and reporting partner. This is a model that pairs trusted local inspection capability with specialist Level 3 thermographic expertise, so that the asset owner receives a report carrying the full authority of a Certified Master Thermographer while the on-the-ground service stays with the provider who knows the territory. The two firms combined their respective strengths rather than duplicating them.
The collaboration was structured around the Drone Media Imaging Level 3 Data Collection Protocol, which governs how survey data is captured so that it meets the requirements of a Level 3 analysis even when the person flying the survey and the person interpreting it are different people in different countries. SKYNOX collected the data on site in Lanzarote, and Drone Media Imaging carried out the classification and reporting from the UK, demonstrating that geography need not stand in the way of standards-compliant inspection.
How was the solar farm survey analysed to IEC 62446-3?
How Was the Solar Farm Survey Analysed to IEC 62446-3?
The survey was flown across three array zones under clear-sky conditions, with strong irradiance and light winds, all comfortably within the thresholds set by IEC 62446-3:2017. The reflected apparent temperature was measured directly on site rather than estimated, which sharpens the accuracy of every temperature reading drawn from the array, and environmental conditions were logged continuously with an IEC-compliant weather meter across each zone session. Capturing this data correctly on site is what allows the analysis to be performed reliably at a distance.
Every anomaly was assessed against an EL1 baseline, a clean reference module of comparable orientation within the same thermogram, which separates genuine thermal faults from reflections and irradiance variation. Each finding was then classified by Drone Media Imaging for both thermal severity and the Drone Media Imaging Consequence Classification, which translates a temperature difference into its real operational meaning for the asset owner: a yield loss, a developing degradation trend, or a safety concern. This is the interpretive layer that a Level 3 analysis and reporting partner adds on top of well-collected field data.
The respective roles in this partnership were clear:
- SKYNOX Drones SL: on-site aerial data collection across the array, conducted under the Drone Media Imaging Level 3 Data Collection Protocol, as the inspection provider to the end client.
- Drone Media Imaging: Level 3 data collection protocol, supervision, thermal analysis, anomaly classification, and the full IEC 62446-3 inspection report.
What Did the Level 3 Analysis Reveal?
Across 4,338 modules, the analysis identified just seven anomalies, an exceptionally low detection rate that points to an array in generally good thermal condition. Five of these were bypass diode activations, where a diode conducts to protect a sub-string of cells that is underperforming, diverting current around the affected section. These were classified at Low and Medium severity, carrying Yield and Degradation Trajectory consequences, and each was recorded as a baseline for future comparison rather than an immediate concern.
The most significant finding came from two strings that each displayed a distinctive checkerboard thermal pattern, with alternating cells running warm in a regular, symmetrical arrangement repeated across every module in the string. This pattern is consistent with reverse polarity or anti-parallel wiring, where current is driven through a string in the wrong direction. Crucially, the same signature appeared independently on two physically separate strings, which points to a systematic wiring error rather than an isolated one-off. Both findings were classified as a Safety consequence. It is exactly the kind of fault that a structured Level 3 analysis is designed to catch and characterise correctly, distinguishing a genuine wiring fault from the superficially similar patterns produced by shading or soiling.
What Does This Mean for Solar in Lanzarote?
The reverse polarity finding was passed to SKYNOX Drones for action with their client, with a recommendation for priority electrical investigation of the two affected strings by a suitably qualified contractor before those strings continue in normal operation. Thermography identifies and classifies, it does not prescribe repairs, so the findings point clearly toward investigation while leaving the remedial decisions with the appropriate qualified parties on the ground.
- Priority electrical investigation of the two strings showing the reverse polarity signature, including polarity verification and cable trace.
- The bypass diode findings recorded as monitoring baselines, to be reassessed at the next periodic inspection.
- Re-inspection of any sections where wiring corrections are made, to confirm the thermal condition has resolved.
As solar capacity continues to grow across Lanzarote and the Canary Islands, partnerships of this kind offer a practical route to keeping new installations safe and productive. A local provider such as SKYNOX Drones brings the access, the airspace knowledge and the client relationship, while a Level 3 analysis and reporting partner brings the interpretive rigour and the standards compliance. Together they give asset owners a defensible, fully IEC 62446-3 compliant inspection, delivered to the same standard whether the array sits in the South of England or on a hillside in the Atlantic.
Need a Level 3 analysis and reporting partner for your solar inspections?
Drone Media Imaging, a trading name of VisualChaos Studios Ltd, partners with aerial inspection providers to deliver IEC 62446-3 solar PV thermography at Level 3, providing the data collection protocol, supervision, analysis and reporting behind your service. We cover Sussex, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey, travel throughout the UK, Ireland and Europe, and support thermography projects worldwide. Get in touch to discuss a partnership.
