Drone thermography in France: commission, check and use the report

Who it is for

• Asset and property managers who want to locate insulation defects or leaks in roofs and facades of buildings in France
• Owners and operators of solar plants or rooftop PV in France commissioning an infrared inspection
• Engineering firms, consultants and surveyors subcontracting aerial data capture and having to guarantee the value of the report
• Facility teams of international companies managing French sites

What this guide does not do: The guide does not teach thermography: it is written for the buyer who must check its quality · It gives no market prices: it gives you the method to obtain comparable quotes · A thermography report does not replace a French energy performance certificate (DPE), a regulatory energy audit or a court-appointed expert's findings: the guide explains why

Contents of the complete guide

1. What drone thermography can and cannot do (free extract below)
2. Standards and competence: who signs what
3. Choosing the measurement window: season, time, weather and flight constraints
4. The specification: what you write before the flight
5. The day of the flight: conditions to record and check
6. Reading and checking the report in fifteen minutes
7. Solar PV: what a drone finds and what it misses
8. Recognising typical anomalies: buildings and solar PV
9. Using the results: verify, decide, assert your rights
10. Comparing quotes without getting it wrong
11. Templates to copy: specifications, measurement sheet, grids, tracking
12. Sources and dates checked

Included: 14 checklist items and 9 decision or reference tables.

Introduction

A drone thermography survey produces spectacular images. It does not necessarily produce a diagnosis. Between the two lie measurement conditions that were or were not met, a competent person who did or did not interpret the images, a standard followed or ignored, and a report that does or does not let you find the anomaly on the roof. The buyer only sees the result at the end, when it is too late to redo the flight at the right time.

This guide is written for the buyer. It tells you what to require before the flight (measurement window, standard, interpreter's qualification, report content), what to check during it (the conditions recorded), how to check the report in a quarter of an hour, and how to turn anomalies into decisions: on-site verification, repairs, an insurance claim, a warranty claim. It covers the four most common uses: building envelopes (roofs, facades), flat roofs (leaks), solar PV installations and buried networks.

The guide is up to date as of 21 October 2026. It relies on the reference standards (NF EN ISO 6781-1 for buildings, IEC TS 62446-3 for PV, ISO 18436-7 and EN ISO 9712 for personnel qualification), on drone rules (Regulation (EU) 2019/947, the DSAC guide of the French civil aviation authority) and on published studies, with DOIs. Standards are sold by their publishers and are not reproduced: the guide says what they cover and what a provider should be asked to cite.

What drone thermography can and cannot do

A thermal camera measures radiation, not temperature

An infrared camera receives radiation and converts it into a temperature using parameters entered by the operator: the surface's emissivity (its ability to emit), the reflected temperature (what the surface reflects from its surroundings, the sky in particular), the distance, the viewing angle and the air humidity. Change one parameter and the displayed figure changes without the surface moving by a tenth of a degree.

A study by Playà-Montmany and Tattersall (Methods in Ecology and Evolution, 2021, DOI 10.1111/2041-210X.13563) measured this on known temperature sources: target size and distance strongly influence the estimated temperature, and the angle of incidence changes the apparent emissivity. The authors recommend that any infrared measurement report at least the distance, emissivity, angle, atmospheric and reflected temperatures, wind, humidity and sunlight. That is the list a serious report must carry.

The consequence for the buyer: from a drone, tens of metres away, on materials of varying emissivity, what is reliable is the temperature difference between two neighbouring areas of the same image, not the absolute temperature displayed. Building thermography is by nature a qualitative detection of irregularities: that is precisely the subject of the reference standard.

The decision table

What a thermography report is not

• It is not a French energy performance certificate (DPE). The DPE is a conventional calculation carried out by a certified assessor; thermography observes actual defects. They complement each other.
• It is not a regulatory energy audit. It can feed one (locating defects to fix), not replace it.
• It is not a court expert's report. It can be produced as evidence; only a court-appointed expert produces binding findings, and may disregard a report whose measurement conditions are not recorded.

Five questions before requesting a quote

1. Which decision will the report support? (Starting repairs, an insurance claim, accepting new works, prioritising a portfolio.) The deliverable follows.
2. Which job: envelope, flat roof, PV, network? Each has its own measurement window.
3. When can you host the flight, given the required season?
4. Will the building be in the right state on the day (heated, producing, running)?
5. Who will interpret the images, with what qualification?

How it works

1. You pay on StripeBy card, in one go, on the checkout page hosted by Stripe: your card details never go through our servers.
2. You read it right awayRight after payment, you land on the complete guide's page. Bookmark it or print it to PDF; the link and the invoice are emailed to you, and everything stays findable with “Find my purchases”, at the bottom of every page.
3. A problem? We fix itCannot access it, or the content does not match its description: email devis@c-drone.fr and we restore access or refund you (terms of sale, in French).

Frequently asked questions

What does “Drone thermography in France: commission, check and use the report” contain and how much is it?

For €29 VAT included (€24.17 excl. VAT), you get drone thermography in France: commission, check and use the report: 12 chapters online, about 24 printable A4 pages and 6 ready-to-copy templates, to commission a drone thermography survey in France (building envelope, flat roof, solar plant or rooftop PV) that is actually useful: the measurement window to require for each job, the standards and qualifications to ask for, a model specification, the measurement conditions sheet, the report checklist, what a drone does and does not detect on PV modules, and how to turn anomalies into repair, insurance or warranty decisions.

How do I receive the guide?

Right after payment you are redirected to the complete guide's page. Bookmark it, or print it to PDF (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P, “Save as PDF”). Stripe also emails you the receipt.

Do I get an invoice?

Yes: Stripe generates the invoice and emails it. You can enter your company name and VAT number at checkout. Seller: Lacangel Group (VAT FR21995268018); prices VAT included.

Is the guide kept up to date?

Yes. The guide's page is updated when the rules change; your access stays valid and you always read the latest version.

Does this guide replace the official texts or a training course?

No. C-DRONE is neither the French civil aviation authority (DGAC) nor a training organisation: the guide explains and organises the paperwork, with links to the official sources, which alone are authoritative.

Other guides

All regulation guides →

Free articles on the topic

• What a Drone Thermography Report Is Worth: Who Signs It, Under Which Standard, How to Read It
• The Measurement Window for Drone Thermography: Which Season, Which Hour and Which Weather Make the Flight Valid
• Drone thermography: cost of a thermal building inspection
• Drone thermography: the energy renovation weapon
• Drone thermography of a solar farm: the IEC 62446-3 standard, method, price
• Municipal aerial thermography by drone: roof heat loss mapping, price

Instant access to your guide after payment · terms of sale (in French). Questions before buying: devis@c-drone.fr.