Thermal imaging cameras have been essential for electrical surveys and diagnostics for many years. In addition, these highly effective cameras are an excellent tool for preventative maintenance through non-invasive surveys of electrical equipment.
It's only natural that the components of electrical systems will become worn or damaged over time. These and any other faults with electrical equipment will lead to costly production downtimes and potentially hazardous fire damage. Regular inspections with a thermal imaging camera significantly reduce the risk of these issues happening as you can see the impending signs and pre-emptively fix the problem before it occurs.
How Do Thermal Cameras Help?
Thermal cameras essentially detect infrared energy. They can convert this data into a visible colour image that can be understood and reveal any issues with the local electrics, providing the user has had the appropriate thermographic training. For example, a component that has stopped working may not have the same heat as its working counterparts, so it will be revealed as a much colder part of the electric machinery. Alternatively, a part that's on the verge of failing due to overheating will be much hotter than the parts around it.
Faulty wiring, poor connections, switch oxidation or damaged fuses are easily spotted during a thermal imaging inspection. In addition, thermal cameras make investigating problems much more straightforward and precise than manually locating the source of the problem.
For these reasons, thermographic surveys are a standard tool for electricians conducting electrical diagnostics during building surveys for homes or businesses. These benefits increase exceptionally when thermal cameras are applied to the larger-scale electric utility industry.
Electric Utilities Maintenance
Electrical Utility covers everything from power generation, substations/transmission and the various distribution applications afterwards as the power is sent around the country.
There are many responsibilities to make sure there is uninterrupted electrical flow across all electrical utilities. Maintaining uptime at generation stations, keeping distribution networks flowing and troubleshooting any failures are vital to smooth operations. Additionally, they can also be assisted with the high-quality thermal cameras available at Thermascan. Here are some examples of how our thermal imaging cameras help with this industry's preventative maintenance.
Electric Power Generation Inspections
Bushings are hollow electrical insulators that allow electrical conductors to pass safely through a conducting barrier without contact. They are in the same category as a transformer or circuit breaker, and a failed bushing can devastate your productivity and finances in downtime and repairs. The traditional inspection methods involve labour-intensive power factor measurements requiring temporary shutdowns.
However, with regular thermal inspections, it's easy to detect a potential bushing failure long before it happens. Our Teledyne FLIR T1020 is an excellent example of a professional camera that can easily incorporate thermal imaging surveys into an existing maintenance schedule and increase the effectiveness of those inspections.
Electric Distribution Inspections
Distribution powerlines need to be checked often as any problems must be caught as early as possible. Loss of distribution will impact potentially thousands of customers, but the naked eye can miss a lot during an inspection, especially from ground level. However, high-quality thermal imaging cameras can inspect the powerlines components from afar, clearly revealing their status. In addition, these cameras can identify hot spots early and allow for practical preventative maintenance.
Distribution transformers also need to be checked often due to the widespread power outages that happen when they fail. In addition, the inherent costs of repairing this equipment mean preventative measures such as thermal surveys are vital to maintaining uninterrupted power distribution. Thermal cameras will easily present the user with the data they require of the state of a distribution transformer, in a visual format that makes diagnosing any problems easy.
Green Power Inspections
Solar panels require detailed surveys as much as any other elements of electrical utilities. Whether they are the panels on your home roof or a vast collection of panels for industry, routine solar panel maintenance is essential for maintaining their operational efficiency. Thermal camera inspections assist electrical engineers in reducing their inspection times and help find any failing panels sooner rather than later.
Wind turbines are particularly susceptible to wear over time due to their nature as a turbine. Costly downtime is one problem that occurs with a wind turbine failure, and the largest is a total mechanical failure that can potentially be a hazardous accident. Unfortunately, breakdowns are common for wind turbines, but this is prevented for as long as possible with a thermal imaging camera added to the machine's normal inspection process.
Field technicians will confidently use thermal imaging in their preventative maintenance of wind turbines. Thermal imaging is the only technology that allows a more efficient inspection, simultaneously inspecting the wind turbine's electrical and mechanical components and the surrounding electrical systems.
Thermal Imaging Specialists
At Thermascan, we stock the best Teledyne FLIR thermal imaging cameras for hire and purchase. We understand whether you are diagnosing the electrics for one person's building or a city's power utility, you want to know that your predictive maintenance is founded on the most detailed data.
We pride ourselves on our detailed thermographic surveys conducted by our team of level two certified engineers. Our expert team can be hired to carry out on-site inspections on either a one off, case-by-case or a regular program to ensure that you get a complete picture for your preventative maintenance needs.
If you'd like to know more about the industries that use our high-quality thermal cameras or learn more about the features our cameras come with, please browse our collection online.