An infrared electrical survey employs thermal imaging cameras to inspect electrical systems and find heat signatures that are invisible to the naked eye. Any electrical piece of equipment, panels, switchgears, transformers, connections, produces heat when it does its job. Any heat that falls within the expected range is acceptable. Any heat that falls outside the expected range is a red flag. You may have a loose connection, an overloaded circuit, failing insulation or unbalanced loads. Thermal cameras are not new technology, but their accuracy is incredible. They can detect differences down to a fraction of a degree Celsius meaning that even faults that are in the early stages are spotted.
Infrared electrical surveys in industrial facilities are often performed while the equipment is live and running under normal operating load is a real advantage. Unlike other inspections that require the machine to be on standby or shut down, infrared inspections occur in real time and read the real thermal signature of your equipment.
What These Inspections actually find
Go through an industrial facility and you'll find electrical infrastructure in almost everything, from production lines to HVAC systems, lighting arrays to control panels to high-voltage distribution equipment. There's a risk associated with every one of the machineries and systems unless it's correctly maintained.
Thermal inspection discovers these common problems:
The connection age, rust or loosening means resistance in the joint. As resistance rises, so does heat. The heat accelerates the failure. Eventually, the compromised joint fails, sometimes in one catastrophic shudder.
- The overloaded circuit dissipates more heat than the others, and the thermal camera will highlight the problem. You’re not going to see overloads in a visual spot-checking job.
- Finding the failing fuses, breakers, and capacitors long before they fail and take everything down with them. It’s necessary to replace them before it’s a problem, and this can avoid repairs later on.
- Discover unbalanced loads on three-phase panels, which is a big problem in industrial facilities. Learn which side is carrying vertically above the other, indicating which poles have which loads.
Why Industrial Facilities Specifically Benefit
Electrical systems are put under more load in industrial facilities than anywhere else. Continuous operation, vibration, dust, heat, humidity and temperature swings all enjoyed. A connectivity that a commercial building can keep for 20 years can be five years in a factory.
Thermographers don't just schedule regular thermal inspections in industrial facilities for the sake of compliance or meeting insurance requirements. They do it for the simple fact that the cost of a scheduled inspection is a fraction of the cost of an unplanned outage in lost production, repair labor and potential equipment damage. For those searching for Infrared Electrical Survey Utah options, local service providers conduct inspections to suit the load profiles and seasons for each area’s industrial facilities.
The Inspection Process
A qualified thermographer will schedule the survey for some time during the day when the facility is operating at maximum capacity. Electrical problems are best identified under load. At half capacity, a faulty connection might not manifest a significant heat differential. At 80%, that same ignition source might exhibit a temperature increase of 30 or more degrees F.
The entire electrical system, including panels, disconnects, motor control centers, transformers and more, will be scanned for hotspots. The thermographer will take thermal photography and conventional photographs to document the visualizations and store them in a final report. An IR Electrical Survey Utah by a certified thermographer is conducted to predetermined standards (usually NETA or NFPA 70B) so the recommendations can be used for defensible documentation and maintenance records.
FAQs
1. How often does an industrial facility need an infrared electrical survey?
Most facilities will need annual reviews at least. A facility that needs to operate at full capacity, or one that operates an electric load 24/7, should have a review every six months.
2. Can infrared surveys be done while the dust isn't dusted?
Yes, and that's one of the big draws. The survey is performed with systems live and loaded, so no production down time.
3. Thermal survey versus electrical inspection - what's the difference?
Electrical inspections are either visual or resistance based, and are only a photo in time. That often requires a partial shutdown for passive systems. Thermal surveys capture the performance of a system at the point of failure. They capture the dynamic faults the other types of electrical inspections miss.
4. Does insurance have a say in thermal inspection schedules?
Many sometimes, yes. Commercial and industrial property insurers typically want to have a relationship with facilities that have good thermal inspection records or provide discounted rates for having such records.
5. What then when the fault is found?
The thermographer's report and recommendations identify a fault's location, severity and the appropriate remedy. Your electrical contractor will tighten connections, replace parts or adjust loads, as needed.
Final Words
Business facilities have a lot of invisible danger in their electrical systems, not because they're run down, but because wear, load and time are harsh. Thermal imaging gives the maintenance teams a realistic, honest assessment of what's actually going on within panels and connections. If you are responsible for an Infrared electrical surveys for industrial facilitiesand haven't yet subscribed to a regular infrared inspection program, you should start a conversation with a qualified thermographer.
Learn More about how to conduct a thermal inspection of your facilities and what your electrical systems have been trying to say. The truth is often unexpected, not because your facilities are a mess, but because there's almost always something to know sooner rather than later.
