Safety
Electrical safety should always be a top priority for your home and business. Periodic inspections to ensure that everything is in proper working order is crucial. In fact, as of late, more and more insurance companies are insisting on Thermal Imaging inspections in order to renew existing policies.
We at Thermo Elite Inc. provide professional Level 2 certified electrical thermal imaging inspections. Such inspections offer an efficient and effective processing finding any electrical hazards or issues in your residence or commercial buildings.
What is an Electrical Thermal Imaging Inspection?
An electrical thermal imaging inspection is a non-destructive technique that is used to inspect electrical equipment, wires, appliances, and electrical panels by obtaining heat distribution pictures. This inspection method is based on the fact that when any electrical part or wires malfunction, it raises its temperature. Often the temperature rises when there is any fault in an electrical circuit due to faulty wires or loose connections. By studying the heat patterns in operational system components,the inspection team can easily find out the fault within your electrical system.
How Infrared Thermographic Works?
Infrared thermography is the most advanced form of non-contact, non-destructive testing for detecting and measuring thermal patterns and temperatures in electrical systems and components. It is done using infrared cameras that capture IR images. High-resolution infrared cameras will detect infrared energy emitted from an object and convert it into an image. By observing the images, the thermal inspection team will study the heat pattern of the image and with their analysis, they will easily find out the problems within the electrical system. Usually, there is increased resistance within electrical components due to equipment fatigue, improper installation, loose connections, and exposure to the elements. This increased resistance will further produce increased heat. Our experienced thermographic inspection team will detect this heat variation with an IR camera and through IR images they will get to know where the problem is.
Why is Thermal Imaging Inspection Important?
Thermal imaging helps you find faults before they become major issues.If any electrical problem goes unnoticed then it can lead to excess power use, increased maintenance costs, or catastrophic equipment failure resulting in unscheduled service interruptions. According to reports, nearly 10% of building fires are associated with electrical system failures such as failure of terminals, electrical insulation, etc. These issues are not easily visible. A thermal inspection of your electrical panel will help you find all the hidden issues so that you can fix the problems before they cause any major harm.
Other additional benefits of finding the problems early are the cost-effectiveness that comes from energy conservation and reduction in shutdown and repair charges.
Benefits of Electrical Thermal Imaging Inspection
Electrical defects such as loose connections and overloaded circuits (the most common cause of electrical fires), transformer cooling faults, motor winding faults, and induced currents can all be detected using thermography. You can use thermal imaging to inspect fuse boards, MCB boards, contactors, switchboards, transformers, motors, wires, control panels, switch fuses and isolators, etc. This can all be done while the equipment is still in operation, causing no disruption to business operations.
A thermographic survey is non-intrusive, allowing inspections to be performed safely and efficiently while minimizing any risk. There is no other method that can safely and easily detect all of the electrical issues mentioned in the previous paragraph.
It has been proven that something as simple as an electrical short circuit is one’s home is often the cause of a house fire. This can be caused by loose wires in the meter or in the cabling itself. With thermal imaging, it is very easy to detect such loose wires thus prevent any electric fire hazard.
When will I Require a Thermographic Inspection?
The benefits of a thermographic inspection can be reaped by any commercial, residential or industrial property at any time. If you witness increased power consumption or your building is having any type of electrical abnormalities then you may want to contact us at Thermo Elite to do a full electrical survey scan for you. Even without cause for concern, it is highly recommended to have this done annually. It is a very affordable service to have that peace of mind for your family or employees.
For commercial buildings, it is slowly becoming the norm that such a scan is mandatory once a year. It should be carried out on critical systems such as circuit panels, transformers, and switchgear. The rescan must be scheduled based on the equipment type, power consumption, and age of the electrical systems based on the overall performance.
Electrical Thermography Scans and Savings
The major benefit of thermography is that it is a non-destructive technique that helps you find hidden faults that would normally go undetected until becoming problematic. If these faults are repaired before they become more damaging, naturally this can save you a healthy sum in the long run. You can save on energy consumption, decreased outages, and repair charges. Failure of important electrical components will almost certainly lead to increased maintenance and repair charges. Have a thermographic inspection done by the professionals at Thermo Elite, so that we can easily assess and detect any such. You can then have them repaired before they become a major problem.
Connections and wiring
With a thermographic electrical inspection, you can easily find connections with a higher temperature which indicates a loose, over-tightened, or corroded connection with increased resistance. The faulty wires will emit much more heat if there is an excessive current. Once the problem is detected you can easily have an electrician fix the issue.
Fuses
Whenever the fuse reaches its current capacity, it will appear hot in a thermal scan. A defective fuse will give a cooler image than the normal temperature.
Faulty Plugs
Every electrical appliance has a plug that ensures it receives the correct amount of current from the power supply. Plugs, like other electrical devices, can develop subtle faults that get worse over time. Any faulty plug can also damage your costly appliances. With the help of a thermographic inspection, you can easily find out if you have any faulty plugs.
Hot or Loose Electrical
Thermal cameras help in locating faulty connections or ‘hot joints’ before they cause permanent damage to equipment.
PCB Defects
We can check for electrical defects on printed circuit boards (PCBs).
Power Usage
Thermal scanners reveal which circuits on a switchboard consume the most energy.
Get In Touch today
If you are looking for an electrical thermographic inspection in the Ottawa area, then we are the team you want. We have already established ourselves as an industry leader in Thermography in other parts of Canada, we look forward to providing that same level of professionalism and service to Ottawa and surrounding areas.
We use the latest in Infrared technology and follow all compliance and safety guidelines. Our team of Level 2 certified thermographers will fully exceed your expectations.
We can provide an approximate price for an electrical thermal imaging inspection via email if you are interested, or feel free to call us at 1-844-969-5150. Please reach out to us today to know more about our pricing and services.
