Friday, February 28, 2014

Using Electrical Infrared Inspection Is A Sure Way To Save Time And Money

By Lisa Williamson


In electrical systems, high temperatures normally indicate an impending trouble. This can result from unnecessarily high resistance, short circuits, poor connections, ground fault or any other failing components common with electrical equipment. The problem must be pinpointed and rectified early enough as complete failures are normally expensive and at times can results to catastrophes. Instead of struggling to find the incipient failures through visual and other manual inspection methods which are costly, time consuming and may not pinpoint the problem, engineers are now turning to electrical infrared inspection that has proved to be the most effective alternative.

It is a good practice to inspect all electrical system components twice a year or at least every 12 months at minimum. When properly conducted, it is possible to detect and prevent accidents well in advance before they occur. For the equipment and the control systems that are subjected to movements and vibrations, every six months inspection is not optional.

Excessive heat is normally an indication of the underlying problem that must be handled before a disaster. Other than mechanical damages to power lines and other electrical devices, there are several causes of overheating but the common ones include faulty assembly, loose connections, wear and tear, ground faults, contamination and corrosion. Most of these results from exposure to physical elements and thus calls for periodic inspection.

The devices that requires infrared surveys are the bus ducts, the distribution center, the distribution panels, receptacle panel, the transformers, lighting system, switchgears, disconnects and other components that make up the system. If well done, the uninterruptable power supply can be achieved as there is no need to shut down the system. The process of inspection takes place under the normal load without any disturbance to normal supply.

This is the best way in terms of cost and time to inspect almost all electrical components. The most common components that need regular inspection include transformers, switchgear, bus ducts, power correcting banks, variable frequency drives, the disconnects, distribution centers and panels, sub-feed panels, the motor control centers, the uninterruptable power supplies, the lighting and the receptacle panels among several other components.

Given that thousands of devices can be tested within hours, it has proven to be more convenient, highly effective and very efficient method of maintaining electrical system replacing the physical inspection. It is also endorsed by the National Fire Protection Association and the InterNational Electrical Testing Association among other bodies that now advocates for its use.

This form of testing and survey therefore saves engineers millions of dollars improving profitability and significantly decrease the expenses in the areas of operations, testing and maintenance in general. With this convenience and financial benefits, this is a technology you cannot afford to miss in this century if you think of remaining in business.

In order to fully benefit from this cutting edge technology, you must be very keen on the companies you choose for the job. At minimum, the prospective company must have some proven record of good job done on previous assignments. For a good choice, the level of experience of staff also matters.




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