Welcome to your Solar Inspection Results.
So, you’ve just received the results of your Solar Inspection Operation on the Sitemark platform. Now what?
Think of this as your guided tour, like walking around your site with a digital twin that shows you exactly what's happening, panel by panel.
Before we dive in, you might be wondering:
What is Sitemark?
Sitemark is a cloud-based platform that helps solar teams turn drone-capture data into clear, actionable insights. From aerial thermography to automated anomaly detection, Sitemark turns your site into a digital workspace, so you can monitor performance, detect issues early, and make confident decisions from anywhere.
Now, Let’s explore what you’ve got, how to read it, and how to get the most out of it.
1. Starting Point: Your Digital Solar Site
Once the results of your solar site are ready, you will receive an email from our Operations team notifying you about it, and highlighting any necessary additional steps or clarification if needed.
At this point, you can login to the Sitemark platform and go to the Operations section, where you will be able to select your latest operation for review.
Once the operation loads, you’ll see a map of your site with multiple data layers listed on the right-hand side. These layers act like transparent sheets, you can toggle them on or off to reveal different types of information.
Tip: If you’re feeling overwhelmed by too many layers, you can hide or reveal them individually using the checkboxes.
Explore the layers One by One
Base Layer: This is a satellite map, based on google maps, that gives you context. It’s your foundation—nothing fancy, just a useful reference.
RGB Orthomosaic: A high-resolution color (Red-Green-Blue) orthomosaic (a high-resolution map generated but the merged pictures captured by the drone) of your entire site. Great for spotting visible issues, like broken panels, soiling, dropping or vegetation.
Thermal Orthomosaic: Here’s where the magic happens. This layer shows you temperature data across the site, perfect for spotting thermal anomalies such as hot spots or string anomalies.
Photos: All the individual images the drone captured, both RGB and thermal. You can click on any photo to view a raw image from the drone flight.
Design Files & Regions: Your own dxf or pdf overlays and site plans, layered directly onto your results.
Thermal Anomalies: The key highlight. This layer contains the anomalies the Sitemark algorithm has found on site.
Annotations & Boundaries: Notes and outlines showing what was inspected and what you measured.
2. How to customize the Thermal Layer
Want to sharpen the view? You can customize each layer. Just click the small arrow beside the layer’s name to open its settings.
Tip: For the Thermal Orthomosaic, we recommend adjusting the temperature range to around 20℃. to make thermal anomalies stand out more clearly. Nota that the standard setting after delivery on site already includes these setting recommendations.
In any case, you can adjust the temperature range until you clearly see the different anomalies.
3. Find the Problems: Anomaly Detection & Classification
The Thermal Anomalies layer highlights everything detected in the inspection, from minor hotspots to major faults. The platform employs advanced algorithms to detect and classify anomalies, including:
Hot Spots: Areas with elevated temperatures indicating potential issues.
Multi-Hot Spots: Clusters of hot spots suggesting widespread problems.
Diode Failures: Malfunctions in bypass diodes affecting module performance.
Want more details? Visit our Anomaly Classification guide
When you click on a thermal anomaly, a detailed information panel opens up, revealing critical data about the issue. Here's what each element tells you:
Basic Classification: At the top, you'll see the anomaly type and its cause
Severity Assessment: The platform provides a classification of how serious the issue is.
Temperature Analysis: You'll find detailed temperature readings including:
The panel's average temperature
Delta temperature, showing the difference between the hottest area and average
Normalized delta temperature (when weather data is available)
Maximum and minimum panel temperatures
Impact Analysis: You can see the estimated energy yield loss, helping you prioritize repairs
Location Context: The platform provides region reference (if regions have been created) and coordinates to help you locate the issue on site
Historical Context: View the detection history to understand if this is a new or recurring issue
Action Plan: Each anomaly includes Sitemark's recommended steps for resolving the issue "remedial action plan"
This detailed information helps you make informed decisions about maintenance and repairs, ensuring you can prioritize the most critical issues first.
If you would like to read more in detail about the thermal anomaly properties, for instance, how severity is defined, check out this article: Thermal Anomaly Properties
4. Smarter Insights: Filters & Charts
You don’t have to comb through every detail manually. Let the platform help.
Use filters to highlight only the most critical issues like anomalies with the highest temperature difference. Sitemark's filtering capabilities allow users to customize data views based on specific criteria, akin to IF/AND/OR statements in Excel. By applying filters, users can isolate anomalies caused by external factors such as vegetation overgrowth or soiling. This targeted approach facilitates efficient localization of issues and prioritization of maintenance activities.
Open Charts Mode to get a quick health overview of the site. This mode summarizes anomalies across regions, helping you spot trends or systemic issues. Charts even include your filters!
Tip: Filtering anomalies by temperature difference to focus only on high-severity issues is especially useful on large sites. Later on we’ll learn how you can filter data.
Tip: Try mixing the charts functionality with regions for site-wide insights.
Tip: Try combining filters with charts to view how much your uncleaned panels are currently costing you
Want to learn more about filter capabilities? Check out this article: How to filter your data.
Want to learn more about Charts Mode? Check out this article: How To Use Charts Mode
5. See the Big Picture: Comparing Views
Want to know what’s causing that heat signature? Use the Swipe Compare tool. It’s like dragging a curtain across your screen, one side shows the RGB view, the other shows thermal.
It’s a powerful way to see what's really going on. Maybe a string is disconnected, or a panel is cracked, it all becomes clearer when you can compare.
Tip: You can even swipe between different inspections, not just layers. Handy for seeing if a problem is getting worse or was just temporary.
Learn more about Swipe Compare
6. Export & Report
Need to present the results or collaborate? No problem.
You can export:
High-res orthomosaics (TIF)
Anomaly reports (CSV)
Full operation report (PDF)
It’s all there, just a few clicks away. Click Export button at the top-right of the page.
You can also follow this step-by-step guide for more information.
Lost? We’ve Got You Covered
Questions pop up? We’re here to help.
Click the Support button in the platform (left-hand menu).
Or use the Intercom widget to search articles or chat live with our support team.
We’re adding new guides all the time, and our team is just one click away if you need a human.
Ready to Explore?
You're now equipped to explore your Solar Inspection results with confidence, whether Turbo, Essential or Pro. Think of this not just as a report, but a diagnostic tool that helps you maintain performance, reduce risk, and keep your site in top shape.
So go ahead, dive in, click around, and let your data tell the story of your solar site. We’re right here if you need us.