[ Safety ]

Every Solar Plant Has a Ticking Clock.

Bypass diode failures accumulate silently for years. No alarm. No warning. One day, the junction box overheats — and nobody saw it coming.

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Module 1.7_18 · DiodeVital™
Diode switching cycles
12,847
Junction box · heat buildingno alarm · no visible damage
The Blind Spot

Thermal Imaging Shows a Symptom.
SunSniffer Tracks the Stress History.

Thermography only becomes informative once a sufficient thermal signature exists under the conditions of the inspection. DiodeVital tracks module-level switching behaviour continuously — before a periodic image may show a symptom.

Stressed diode — still functions, produces no heat signature. Invisible to drones and thermal imaging.
Failed diode — thermally visible at last. By then, the damage is done.

SunSniffer counts the switching cycles that cause the stress — detection before damage, before any thermal signature exists.

Bypass diode · thermal fatigueCoffin-Manson model
MODULE LIFETIME →ACCUMULATED STRESS ↑THE BLIND SPOTyears of invisible riskSunSniffer flagselevated stressdiode fails — only nowthermally visible
Inverter
String Monitor
Drone / Thermal
SunSniffer
Fire risk — early detection
Inverter✗
String Monitor✗
Drone / Thermal✗
SunSniffer✓
Diode — already failed
Inverter✗
String Monitor✗
Drone / Thermal✓
SunSniffer✓
Diode — stressed, still working
Inverter✗
String Monitor✗
Drone / Thermal✗ invisible
SunSniffer✓
Individual module voltage
Inverter✗
String Monitor✗
Drone / Thermal✗
SunSniffer✓
A failed diode is thermally visible. A stressed diode still functions but produces no heat signature — invisible to thermal imaging.
For electrical power-loss estimation, a published Helmholtz comparison reported 8.3% uncertainty from thermography and a blind floor below 5% electrical loss — a performance finding, not a diode-lifetime figure. Source: Teubner et al. (2017), Energy Procedia 124, pp. 560–566
RSD: Mandatory for US markets under NEC 690.12.
DiodeVital™

Every Bypass Diode Has a Hidden Stress History.

Bypass diodes accumulate electrical and thermal stress with every switching event. DiodeVital tracks that behaviour module by module — the only module-level monitoring system built to count bypass-diode switching stress continuously. Patent pending.

Module 1.7_18 · Voltage signature · 24 hDiode switches counted · 3
PARTIAL SHADING · BYPASS DIODE ACTIVEMODULE VOLTAGE ↑00:0006:0012:0018:0024:00+1+1+1
every switching cycle counted · per moduleCoffin-Manson fatigue model

Every time a module is partially shaded — by a chimney, a tree, a cloud — its bypass diodes switch on to protect the cells. Each switching cycle creates thermal stress. Over years, this stress accumulates until the diode fails. This is not a defect. It is physics.

The Coffin-Manson Law describes exactly how thermal fatigue accumulates in semiconductor components. A diode exposed to hard shading can reach end-of-life in as little as 8 years — long before your module warranty expires.

Step 01
Stress accumulates
Daily shading cycles create thermal stress in every bypass diode.
Step 02
Fatigue builds
DiodeVital™ monitors the voltage signature of every module's bypass diode behaviour continuously.
Step 03
You act before failure
Replace the module before the junction box overheats. Before the fire.
Weather Damage

Hail Damage Can Stay Invisible. Performance Change Does Not.

Hail can leave modules looking intact while their electrical performance changes in operation. SunSniffer shows which monitored modules changed after the event, by how much — and whether the loss persists or grows.

Cold module — cracked cells still conduct. A flash test at 25 °C shows nothing.
Warm module — cracks open, voltage drops. The loss only appears at operating temperature.

SunSniffer measures every module in-situ at operating temperature, continuously. Not a snapshot. Not a sample. The record that shows what the event really costs — module by module.

How SunSniffer handles hail damage & insurance claims

Source: IEA PVPS (2025), Operational and Economic Impacts of Extreme Weather on PV Power Plants, T13-33:2025 · in our reference list

Voltage vs module temperaturein-situ · every module
OPERATINGTEMPERATUREMODULE VOLTAGE ↑25 °C45 °C65 °Cflash test @ 25 °C —cracks invisibleintact modulepost-event performance changeprovenloss
no loss when cold · loss when warm = crack signatureloss quantified per module
Safety Check

How Safe Is Your Plant — Really?

Three questions. Thirty seconds. An honest answer.

Plant safety diagnostic · 3 checksCheck 1 of 3
Do any of your modules experience regular partial shading?
Risk index
SAFEAT RISK
0/ 6
The needle moves with every answer.
Next Step

Stop Waiting for the Alarm That Never Comes.

There is no alert system built into your inverter. No warning before a diode fails. The only way to know is to measure.

Option 1
Start Monitoring

Book a demo and see DiodeVital live. We show you exactly what your plant looks like at module level — and where the risks are.

Book a Demo
Integrates into junction box
Option 2
Add Active Shutdown

For markets requiring NEC 690.12 compliance: the RSD add-on turns monitoring into active protection. For new installations, RSD integrates directly into the module junction box — no external hardware.

Learn About RSD