On-site Performances Evaluation of Photovoltaic Panels Affected by Bypass Activated Diodes Detected with Thermal Cameras

The paper presents results related to photovoltaic (PV) panels performances evaluation on bypass activated diodes faults, detected by means of thermographic inspection using two thermal cameras, as part of a preventive maintenance process on 8 years old on-grid 12 kW peak power system roof top, installed at National Institute for Research and Development in Electrical Engineering ICPE-CA. The PV panels performance evaluation is based on comparison of the faulty PV panels that contains bypass activated diodes with healthy ones, using their Current-Voltage (I-V) and Power-Voltage (P-V) characteristics measured by means of the HT I-V 400 equipment.