Pharos Data · Solar inspection
Every fault pinned to its module.
From the ground the array looks fine. In thermal, a failed cell, a hot bypass diode or a whole string running warm stands out at once. A Pharos station on your plant flies the inspection every month and again after a storm, not once a year.
The problem
The faults you cannot see cost you every day.
A contractor inspects once a year. In between, a failed diode or a dead string quietly loses generation, and nobody knows which of thousands of modules it is. By the time the yearly report arrives, you have paid for months of lost output.
- Underperformance you can see in the numbers but not on the ground
- Yearly inspections that miss months of faults
- Dirt and bird droppings reported as electrical faults
- Reports that cannot be compared from one year to the next
What we offer
What the station does for you.
Cell hotspots, a hot substring behind a failed diode, a module or a whole string gone dark, each pinned to its module and string.
So dirt and bird droppings are not reported to you as electrical faults.
The same flight lines every time, so you see how the plant is ageing rather than one afternoon of it.
The station is already on site, so it goes up after a storm, not weeks later.
What thermal finds
The faults we report.
Each finding comes with its module, string, a thermal image and a colour photo.
A single cell running hot from a crack, a defect or shading.
A substring running warm behind a failed diode, a loss that repeats every day until it is fixed.
A module or a whole string sitting cold because it is not producing.
Hot connectors and terminals, which are a fire risk as well as a loss.
Separated from electrical faults, so cleaning and repair go to the right team.
Broken glass, frame damage and missing modules after storms or theft.
See the faults
The same array, read as heat.
From the air the array looks fine. In thermal, a failed cell, a hot bypass diode or a whole string running warm stands out at once.
The report
Every hotspot classified, graded and priced.
Solar thermal data is analysed on a dedicated solar inspection platform. Every anomaly comes back with its type and cause, a grade, and what it is costing you.
The type and cause of every anomaly, from a single hot cell to a string gone dark, pinned to its module.
Mild, Serious or Critical against temperature thresholds, each with the repair it needs.
An estimated energy loss per anomaly, and a yearly cost and repair cost once your tariff and panel data are in.
Your own login to see every anomaly on the map, or a share link your team opens without one. Plus a PDF report and a CSV of every anomaly.
How long a solar report takes
Results read on site, from a fast analysis built for small roofs.
Business days, depending on the size of the plant.
Business days, depending on the size of the plant.
Flown to the standard's parameters on request, with at least 600 W/m² of sun on the panels.
Days are counted from when the flight data passes its quality checks. Processing times are our processing platform's published figures.
The aircraft
The Matrice 4TD, built for thermal.
The thermal and close inspection work is flown with DJI's Matrice 4TD, from the DJI Dock 3.
Radiometric, so every pixel carries a temperature.
Or ±2%, from −40 to 150 °C. Up to 500 °C in low gain, at ±5 °C or ±3%.
Three 48 MP cameras at 24, 70 and 168 mm, so small parts are read from a safe standoff.
Measures the distance to what the camera is looking at.
DJI's published specifications for the Matrice 4TD.
How we do it
How it works on your ground.
- 01A station on the plantThe same station that watches the plant at night inspects it by day.
- 02Scheduled thermal passesFlown on a schedule you set, at the conditions thermal inspection needs.
- 03Analysed by specialist softwareThermal data is analysed on a dedicated solar inspection platform, the same way every time, so this month's report compares with last month's.
- 04A report you can act onEvery anomaly classified by type and cause, graded Mild, Serious or Critical, with an estimated energy loss and a repair list in priority order.
Built by Pharos
Our own software, working for you.
The aircraft and station are DJI hardware. What makes them one service is software we wrote ourselves. Here is what it does for you on this kind of site.
Our media pipeline checks, sorts and processes every capture as it comes off the aircraft. Each report is built with the same method as the last one, so month on month the numbers compare.
Our own software sits between the DJI hardware and everything above it. The station, your alarms, the pilots and the reports run as one system, and it is ours to maintain.
Our evidence chain seals every clip and every flight log the moment it is captured, with the pilot, station, time and position attached. If anything were changed afterwards, it would show.
What you get
What lands with you.
- A fault map over the array
- Every anomaly graded Mild, Serious or Critical, with a photo and an estimated energy loss
- A repair list in priority order, costed once your tariff and panel data are in
- A PDF report, a CSV of every anomaly, and your own login to see it online
- Load and weather logged at capture on every finding
Questions
Solar inspection, answered.
How often can you inspect?
Every month and after a storm, because the station lives on your site.
Can you tell soiling from a real fault?
Yes. Thermal and visual are captured on the same pass, so dirt and droppings are separated from electrical faults.
Can the same station do security?
Yes. By night it patrols, by day it inspects, on one bill.
Do you cover commercial rooftops?
Small commercial rooftops are one short flight: fly in the morning, faults on your desk before lunch. On a roof under 1 MWp the analysis runs in under an hour. That only holds for small roofs.
How long does a plant report take?
Standard processing takes 7 to 20 business days depending on the size of the plant, and fast-track 2 to 7, counted from when the flight data passes its quality checks. These are our processing platform's published times.
Who analyses the data?
A dedicated solar inspection platform. The Matrice 4TD flies the thermal pass, and the platform classifies, grades and prices every anomaly.
Is it to IEC TS 62446-3?
We fly to its parameters on request: 3 cm per pixel in thermal, with at least 600 W/m² of sun on the panels. Some parts of the standard cannot be met from a drone, and we tell you which ones before we fly.
Can my team see the results online?
Yes. Your team gets its own login to see every anomaly on the map, or a share link that opens without one.
Book a site assessment
See what a station covers on your ground.
Outline your property on a satellite map and answer four questions, or leave your details. It costs you nothing and you are not committing to anything.