Thermal Imaging Services

Thermal Imaging of Electrical Installations

The reason that Thermal Imaging is so applicable to the inspection and monitoring of electrical installations is that new electrical components begin to deteriorate as soon as they are installed. Whatever the loading of a circuit, vibration, fatigue and age cause the loosening of electrical connections, while environmental conditions can hasten their corroding. Briefly stated all electrical connections will, over time, follow a path towards failure. If not found and repaired, then these failing connections will lead to faults. Fortunately a loose or corroded connection increases resistance at the connection and this increased resistance causes an increase in heat. Thermal Imaging will detect this developing fault before it fails. Detecting and correcting failing connections before a fault occurs averts fires as well as impending shutdowns that can be critical to any business. Such predictive actions are important because when a critical system does fail, it inevitably increases costs.

In addition, Thermal Imaging can detect overloads and unbalanced loads, harmonics and bad wiring which are not readily identifiable with standard electrical testing.

Some types of electrical equipment that are suitable for surveying include:

Three-phase electrical systems, bus bars, distribution panels, switches, fuses, wiring, connections and circuit breakers. Thermal surveys can be carried out in a fraction of the time of normal electrical testing and a small to medium premises can often be surveyed in a single day.

Thermal Imaging is not a replacement for normal electrical testing but a valued addition.

Thermal Imaging of Industrial Premises

In industrial premises, thermal imaging can be effectively used to check electric motors, pumps, bearings, pulleys, HVAC systems, process control equipment, pipes, valves, steam traps and vessels.

Hot spots identified may be an indicator of imminent failure.

Implementing a predictive maintenance program using thermal imaging can significantly reduce both maintenance and production costs.