Solar Farm Inspection in Courtenay, BC

Cell-level hot spots, cracked cells, failed bypass diodes (their one-third-module signature is unmistakable), whole-string outages, connector and combiner heating, soiling patterns, and PID-suspect modules. Each has a distinct thermal fingerprint at full sun.

The opposite — it must be producing under strong irradiance for electrical faults to show thermally. Inspection happens at full operation: zero production loss for the survey itself.

Multi-megawatt sites are covered in a flight day; portfolio rooftops batch efficiently across a week. Compare that with weeks of manual IV-curve tracing — aerial thermography is the triage layer that tells electricians exactly where to take the curve tracer.

Persistent hot spots degrade encapsulant, accelerate failure, and at the extreme end are an ignition risk on rooftops. Annual thermography is both a production audit and a fire-prevention control that insurers increasingly expect.

Yes — our pilots hold Transport Canada RPAS certification with advanced-operations capability, and Courtenay operations run under whatever airspace authorizations the location requires. Valley agriculture plus growing subdivisions; Comox (YQQ) military airspace nearby is handled per authorization. Flight planning, NOTAM checks, and authorizations are part of the service, not your problem.

Aerial inspection flies in defined weather windows — wind, precipitation, and (for thermal work) the right temperature differentials. Courtenay sits in our standing Vancouver Island coverage, so we schedule against the local forecast and typically land the survey within days of booking rather than weeks. Mon–Sat, 8am–6pm Pacific.

Province-wide pricing — no regional premium for Courtenay. Single-asset thermal surveys typically start in the high hundreds; NDT campaigns and multi-asset programs are quoted by scope. The free phone consult (604-239-9934) produces a firm number in about five minutes.