Solar Inspection · Kenya & Africa

Thermal imaging for solar performance

Detect failed strings, hotspots, and diode faults before they cost you output. precision thermography flown across six African countries.

The problem

Every undetected defect is lost revenue

Utility-scale PV plants routinely lose 5–15% of output to defects invisible from the ground: failed strings, bypassed diodes, hotspots, PID. Aerial thermography finds them all - fast, safely, and with GPS coordinates for every fault.

RGB and thermal comparison of the same array revealing classified module defects

RGB and thermal, side by side

Every module is captured in both spectrums. Thermal reveals the electrical signature of failure; RGB confirms physical causes like soiling, cracking, or vegetation shading. Together they turn "output is down" into a repair work order.

  • Module-level defect classification
  • Hotspots, string outages, diode and junction-box faults
  • PID, soiling, and shading identification
Solar thermography analysis platform showing anomaly reports and site progress dashboards

Thermography data your team can act on

We fly to exacting thermography specification - sub-2cm/px GSD with 70/30 overlap - and deliver into analysis platforms your O&M team can work in directly: anomaly registers, severity classes, estimated losses, and punch lists.

  • Georeferenced thermal orthomosaic of the full site
  • Classified anomaly register with severity and est. loss
  • Actionable punch lists for repair crews
Operational model

Built for multi-country African deployment

Flying a solar survey in Kenya is one thing. Flying compliant surveys in DRC, Madagascar, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, and Rwanda in a single campaign is what we're built for.

[ CREW ]

Travelling lead + local licensed pilot

Our lead pilot travels with the equipment; a locally licensed pilot joins at every site for full in-country regulatory compliance.

[ SPEC ]

Precision-standard capture

Sub-2cm/px GSD, 70/30 overlap, solar-noon flight windows, calibrated thermal payloads - the standard asset owners and lenders recognise.

[ RATE ]

Transparent day rates

Clear pricing: drone services, regulatory and local compliance, logistics, and accommodation - quoted per site, per country, no surprises.

[ SCALE ]

Coverage that scales

~45+ hectares per flight day. From 5 MWp rooftops to 200+ MWp utility plants, the campaign plan is built around your site.

Use cases

One survey. Four kinds of value.

[ O&M ]

Preventative maintenance

Annual or semi-annual thermal audits catch degradation early and keep production at contract levels.

[ M&A ]

Due diligence

Independent condition assessment before acquisition or refinancing - know exactly what you're buying.

[ OPS ]

Performance troubleshooting

Output down and inverter data inconclusive? A thermal pass localises the problem to the module.

[ EPC ]

Commissioning & warranty

Baseline surveys at handover and documented evidence for warranty claims against suppliers.

Go deeper than thermal

EL Testing: see inside every solar cell

Autonomous EL imaging drone flying over a solar plant at night

Thermal shows you where a module is failing. Electroluminescence (EL) shows you why. In partnership with Quantified Labs, we fly autonomous drone EL campaigns that reveal microcracks, PID, and cell defects invisible to thermal imaging: the factory gold-standard test, performed in the field.

Explore EL Testing

Get a thermal survey quote for your site

Send us your site location and capacity - we'll return a full campaign quote within 48 hours.

Talk to VersaDrones

The fastest way to reach us is WhatsApp: we respond within 48 hours.

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Or send an official inquiry to info@versadrones.net