IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v14y2022i19p11930-d921420.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Method for the Automated Inspection of the Surfaces of Photovoltaic Modules

Author

Listed:
  • Pavel Kuznetsov

    (Institute of Nuclear Energy and Industry, Sevastopol State University, 299053 Sevastopol, Russia)

  • Dmitry Kotelnikov

    (Institute of Nuclear Energy and Industry, Sevastopol State University, 299053 Sevastopol, Russia)

  • Leonid Yuferev

    (Institute of Nuclear Energy and Industry, Sevastopol State University, 299053 Sevastopol, Russia)

  • Vladimir Panchenko

    (Department of Theoretical and Applied Mechanics, Russian University of Transport, 127994 Moscow, Russia)

  • Vadim Bolshev

    (Laboratory of Power and Heat Supply, Federal Scientific Agroengineering Center VIM, 109428 Moscow, Russia)

  • Marek Jasiński

    (WWSIS “Horyzont”, 54-239 Wrocław, Poland)

  • Aymen Flah

    (National Engineering School of Gabès, Processes, Energy, Environment and Electrical Systems, University of Gabès, LR18ES34, Gabes 6072, Tunisia)

Abstract

One of the most important conditions for the efficient operation of solar power plants with a large installed capacity is to ensure the systematic monitoring of the surface condition of the photovoltaic modules. This procedure is aimed at the timely detection of external damage to the modules, as well as their partial shading. The implementation of these measures solely through visual inspection by the maintenance personnel of the power plant requires significant labor intensity due to the large areas of the generation fields and the operating conditions. Authors propose an approach aimed at increasing the energy efficiency of high-power solar power plants by automating the inspection procedures of the surfaces of photovoltaic modules. The solution is based on the use of an unmanned aerial vehicle with a payload capable of video and geospatial data recording. To perform the procedures for detecting problem modules, it is proposed to use “object-detection” technology, which uses neural network classification methods characterized by high adaptability to various image parameters. The results of testing the technology showed that the use of a neural network based on the R-CNN architecture with the learning algorithm—Inception v2 (COCO)—allows detecting problematic photovoltaic modules with an accuracy of more than 95% on a clear day.

Suggested Citation

  • Pavel Kuznetsov & Dmitry Kotelnikov & Leonid Yuferev & Vladimir Panchenko & Vadim Bolshev & Marek Jasiński & Aymen Flah, 2022. "Method for the Automated Inspection of the Surfaces of Photovoltaic Modules," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, September.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:11930-:d:921420
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/11930/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/14/19/11930/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Václav Beránek & Tomáš Olšan & Martin Libra & Vladislav Poulek & Jan Sedláček & Minh-Quan Dang & Igor I. Tyukhov, 2018. "New Monitoring System for Photovoltaic Power Plants’ Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(10), pages 1-13, September.
    2. Kalogirou, Soteris A., 2000. "Applications of artificial neural-networks for energy systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 67(1-2), pages 17-35, September.
    3. Idris Al Siyabi & Arwa Al Mayasi & Aiman Al Shukaili & Sourav Khanna, 2021. "Effect of Soiling on Solar Photovoltaic Performance under Desert Climatic Conditions," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-18, January.
    4. Chine, W. & Mellit, A. & Lughi, V. & Malek, A. & Sulligoi, G. & Massi Pavan, A., 2016. "A novel fault diagnosis technique for photovoltaic systems based on artificial neural networks," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(C), pages 501-512.
    5. Martin Libra & Milan Daneček & Jan Lešetický & Vladislav Poulek & Jan Sedláček & Václav Beránek, 2019. "Monitoring of Defects of a Photovoltaic Power Plant Using a Drone," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-9, February.
    6. Hafiz Suliman Munawar & Fahim Ullah & Siddra Qayyum & Sara Imran Khan & Mohammad Mojtahedi, 2021. "UAVs in Disaster Management: Application of Integrated Aerial Imagery and Convolutional Neural Network for Flood Detection," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(14), pages 1-22, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Mehleri, E.D. & Zervas, P.L. & Sarimveis, H. & Palyvos, J.A. & Markatos, N.C., 2010. "A new neural network model for evaluating the performance of various hourly slope irradiation models: Implementation for the region of Athens," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(7), pages 1357-1362.
    2. Dirk Johan van Vuuren & Annlizé L. Marnewick & Jan Harm C. Pretorius, 2021. "A Financial Evaluation of a Multiple Inclination, Rooftop-Mounted, Photovoltaic System Where Structured Tariffs Apply: A Case Study of a South African Shopping Centre," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(6), pages 1-26, March.
    3. Leung, Philip C.M. & Lee, Eric W.M., 2013. "Estimation of electrical power consumption in subway station design by intelligent approach," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 101(C), pages 634-643.
    4. Jorge E. De León-Ruiz & Ignacio Carvajal-Mariscal & Antonin Ponsich, 2019. "Feasibility Analysis and Performance Evaluation and Optimization of a DXSAHP Water Heater Based on the Thermal Capacity of the System: A Case Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(20), pages 1-38, October.
    5. Selimefendigil, Fatih & Öztop, Hakan F., 2020. "Identification of pulsating flow effects with CNT nanoparticles on the performance enhancements of thermoelectric generator (TEG) module in renewable energy applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1076-1086.
    6. Jani, D.B. & Mishra, Manish & Sahoo, P.K., 2017. "Application of artificial neural network for predicting performance of solid desiccant cooling systems – A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 352-366.
    7. Khan, Waqas & Walker, Shalika & Zeiler, Wim, 2022. "Improved solar photovoltaic energy generation forecast using deep learning-based ensemble stacking approach," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 240(C).
    8. Souliotis, M. & Kalogirou, S. & Tripanagnostopoulos, Y., 2009. "Modelling of an ICS solar water heater using artificial neural networks and TRNSYS," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 34(5), pages 1333-1339.
    9. Ata, Rasit, 2015. "Artificial neural networks applications in wind energy systems: a review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 49(C), pages 534-562.
    10. Abu Bakar, Nur Najihah & Hassan, Mohammad Yusri & Abdullah, Hayati & Rahman, Hasimah Abdul & Abdullah, Md Pauzi & Hussin, Faridah & Bandi, Masilah, 2015. "Energy efficiency index as an indicator for measuring building energy performance: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-11.
    11. Bhowmik, Chiranjib & Bhowmik, Sumit & Ray, Amitava & Pandey, Krishna Murari, 2017. "Optimal green energy planning for sustainable development: A review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 796-813.
    12. Hannah Jessie Rani R. & Aruldoss Albert Victoire T., 2018. "Training radial basis function networks for wind speed prediction using PSO enhanced differential search optimizer," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 13(5), pages 1-35, May.
    13. Mahmoud Dhimish & Pavlos I. Lazaridis, 2022. "Approximating Shading Ratio Using the Total-Sky Imaging System: An Application for Photovoltaic Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(21), pages 1-16, November.
    14. Guo, Zhiling & Zhuang, Zhan & Tan, Hongjun & Liu, Zhengguang & Li, Peiran & Lin, Zhengyuan & Shang, Wen-Long & Zhang, Haoran & Yan, Jinyue, 2023. "Accurate and generalizable photovoltaic panel segmentation using deep learning for imbalanced datasets," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 219(P1).
    15. Waqar Muhammad Ashraf & Ghulam Moeen Uddin & Syed Muhammad Arafat & Sher Afghan & Ahmad Hassan Kamal & Muhammad Asim & Muhammad Haider Khan & Muhammad Waqas Rafique & Uwe Naumann & Sajawal Gul Niazi &, 2020. "Optimization of a 660 MW e Supercritical Power Plant Performance—A Case of Industry 4.0 in the Data-Driven Operational Management Part 1. Thermal Efficiency," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-33, October.
    16. Sellak, Hamza & Ouhbi, Brahim & Frikh, Bouchra & Palomares, Iván, 2017. "Towards next-generation energy planning decision-making: An expert-based framework for intelligent decision support," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 80(C), pages 1544-1577.
    17. Kicsiny, Richárd, 2018. "Black-box model for solar storage tanks based on multiple linear regression," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 125(C), pages 857-865.
    18. Mohanraj, M. & Belyayev, Ye. & Jayaraj, S. & Kaltayev, A., 2018. "Research and developments on solar assisted compression heat pump systems – A comprehensive review (Part A: Modeling and modifications)," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 83(C), pages 90-123.
    19. Kara Mostefa Khelil, Chérifa & Amrouche, Badia & Benyoucef, Abou soufiane & Kara, Kamel & Chouder, Aissa, 2020. "New Intelligent Fault Diagnosis (IFD) approach for grid-connected photovoltaic systems," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    20. Hong, Ying-Yi & Chang, Huei-Lin & Chiu, Ching-Sheng, 2010. "Hour-ahead wind power and speed forecasting using simultaneous perturbation stochastic approximation (SPSA) algorithm and neural network with fuzzy inputs," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 35(9), pages 3870-3876.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:14:y:2022:i:19:p:11930-:d:921420. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.