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This paper investigates defects in photovoltaic (PV) panels, more precisely, the location of defects in PV panels. With the help of electrical verification, it is possible to verify the impact of defects on output performances. However, it is not possible to determine the location of defects in order to address the origin of problems, for example, in the manufacturing process of PV panels. In this paper, the focus lies on finding similarities in the location of defect areas in PV panels. Samples were characterised with the help of synchronized thermography (ST) and time-resolved thermography (TRT) in order to obtain infrared (IR) images of PV panels. IR-images are helpful to obtain a visual image on the health of PV panels, identify the position of defects and estimate the influence of defects on the output power. This information can be useful, for example, for improving the fabrication process of PV panels.

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This paper investigates defects in photovoltaic (PV) cell and panels, in particular, the size and location of defects. We concentrate on characterising photovoltaics under outdoor environmental conditions with the help of synchronized thermography (ST) and time-resolved thermography (TRT). Infrared (IR) images are obtained under changing solar radiation levels and moderate wind speeds with the help of a portable IR-camera. We demonstrate that IR-images obtained outdoors by ST and TRT provide the same information in the same accuracy as IR-images recorded indoors. We elaborate the differences in parameters such as measurement time and region-of-interest (ROI) which need to be adjusted when moving from indoor to outdoor environments. Our technique allows maintenance staff to carry out measurements on the site of a PV power plant to identify PV panels with defects in an easy way.

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