ThermaGrid Enterprise

Solar Farm Specialist: Survey Multi-MW Arrays in Under 60 Minutes

The ThermaGrid Enterprise's coverage rate is its defining characteristic for solar O&M operations. At a standard inspection altitude of 40m with 80% overlap, a single ThermaGrid drone surveys approximately 1 MW of installed capacity per 10-minute flight — meaning a 10MW array can be fully surveyed in under 60 minutes with one drone, or proportionally faster with multiple units. For O&M companies managing large solar portfolios, this changes inspection economics fundamentally.

Traditional solar thermal inspection using handheld thermal cameras requires a technician to walk every row of a solar array — at a rate of approximately 0.5–1 MW per technician per day. A ThermaGrid Enterprise drone survey of the same 10MW site takes under an hour for flight operations and an additional 2–3 hours for automated processing and report generation. Inspection frequency increases from annual to quarterly for the same staffing cost, enabling earlier defect detection and faster generation recovery.

Radiometric FLIR 640 with RTK GPS Tagging

Every thermal frame captured by the ThermaGrid Enterprise is tagged with RTK GPS coordinates accurate to 2cm. Combined with the radiometric FLIR 640 sensor's per-pixel temperature data, this means every module in the array can be geolocated precisely in the site's coordinate system and referenced against the asset register.

When a hot cell cluster is identified in post-processing, the GPS coordinates map it to a specific panel in a specific string — the site manager knows exactly which physical panel to dispatch a technician to, without needing to re-fly for location confirmation. This precision also enables year-on-year comparison of the same panel's thermal performance, identifying degradation trends before they become generation-impacting failures.

Automated Inspection Reports

Post-processing in the ThermaGrid cloud platform takes 2–3 hours for a 10MW array survey. Output includes: a georeferenced thermal orthomosaic with all panels classified by defect type and severity; a defect register listing each affected module by GPS coordinates, panel ID (if cross-referenced with the asset register), defect classification, peak temperature, and IEC 62446 severity rating; and a financial impact estimate modelling generation loss from the identified defects against current irradiance and panel rated output.

Reports export in PDF for delivery to asset owners and lenders, and in CSV and JSON formats for ingestion into asset management systems. Custom report templates can be configured to match client branding and reporting standards.

SCADA and Asset Management Integration

The ThermaGrid platform provides a REST API that enables inspection data to be pushed directly to the major solar SCADA and asset management systems — including OSIsoft PI, SolarEdge Monitoring, Locus Energy, and AlsoEnergy PowerTrack. Inspection defects appear as tagged events in the SCADA timeline, enabling correlation between thermal findings and generation data anomalies. This integration converts thermal inspection data from a standalone deliverable into a live layer within the operational data environment.

Integration with computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) enables automatic work order generation from defect records — a defect identified in the drone inspection triggers a maintenance ticket in the CMMS with the panel ID, defect classification, and priority rating populated automatically.

Fleet Management for Portfolio Operators

O&M companies managing multiple solar sites use the ThermaGrid fleet management dashboard to coordinate drone operations across their portfolio. The dashboard tracks drone location and status in real time, stores flight logs and maintenance records for each unit, and manages operator assignments. Fleet accounts support up to 20 drones under a single account, with role-based access control for pilot, analyst, and manager roles.

ROI for Large Solar Operators

At $14,500 purchase price and a typical O&M charging rate of $15–25 per MW for aerial thermal inspection services, a ThermaGrid Enterprise drone generating $18/MW across 50 inspection days per year (at 5MW per day) generates $4,500/day and approximately $225,000 in annual inspection revenue. Even accounting for operator cost, maintenance, and processing time, the payback period for an active O&M operation is under three months.

For in-house inspection teams at large asset owners (institutional portfolios of 100MW+), the ThermaGrid replaces inspection service contracts worth $50,000–$150,000 annually, with further benefit from increased inspection frequency and faster corrective maintenance triggering.

What's in the Box

• ThermaGrid Enterprise airframe with radiometric FLIR 640 and RGB payload
• RTK GPS module and base station
• Smart flight battery (x4)
• Rapid 4-channel charger
• Remote controller with integrated display (dual-operator capable)
• Hard carry case set (airframe, batteries, accessories)
• 12-month ThermaGrid Cloud platform licence (unlimited flights, 1 seat)
• API documentation and SCADA integration guide
• On-site commissioning and training (1 day, included)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the minimum solar farm size where ThermaGrid makes sense?

The ThermaGrid Enterprise is economically justified from approximately 1MW installed capacity when used for commercial inspection services. For in-house inspection use, the threshold depends on inspection frequency — a 5MW site inspected quarterly generates sufficient value to justify the platform cost within two seasons. For sites below 500kW, the InfraEye Scout is the more appropriate platform.

Can ThermaGrid be used for other inspection types besides solar?

Yes — the radiometric FLIR 640 sensor and RTK GPS tagging are useful for any inspection requiring GPS-accurate temperature data. Electrical substation inspection, large roofing surveys, and transmission line inspection are all viable with the ThermaGrid Enterprise, though these use cases do not require the solar-specific processing workflows in the cloud platform.

How many drones can a single operator manage?

The ThermaGrid platform supports single-operator deployment with one drone. Some jurisdictions and site-specific safety rules permit beyond visual line of sight operations where a second operator (visual observer) is not required — our team can advise on the regulatory position for your country and site type.

What is the weather operating window for reliable solar thermal inspection?

Optimal conditions for solar thermal inspection are clear sky, irradiance above 600 W/m², and wind below 6 m/s. Cloud cover reduces module operating temperature and thermal contrast, making defect identification less reliable. Early morning (before 9am) and late afternoon (after 4pm) are suboptimal — module temperatures are lower and thermal contrast between defective and healthy cells is reduced. The ideal inspection window is 10am–2pm in full sun. The ThermaGrid platform includes an irradiance monitor integration to flag suboptimal inspection conditions during flight planning.