When To Schedule Thermal Imaging (And Why It's Important)

For facilities across different industries, from utilities and manufacturing to healthcare and beyond, equipment care is always critical. There’s a lot that goes into proper maintenance, but thermal imaging is one of the simplest and most effective ways to monitor equipment performance.

Regular thermal scans protect infrastructure by detecting issues before they cause downtime or damage. At Blue Runner Switchgear, a NETA® Certified Company, our technicians provide certified infrared (IR) scanning. We can help you learn all about thermal imaging, from what it is, when to schedule it, and why it’s important to your facility.

What Is Thermal Imaging?

Thermal imaging, also known as infrared thermography, is a diagnostic tool that measures the surface temperatures of equipment via emitted infrared radiation. This technique helps to identify overheating, commonly caused by factors like:

• Unbalanced loads.
• High resistance.
• Loose connections.

Once identified, deeper diagnostics can determine the cause and support a timely repair.

When Should I Schedule a Thermal Scan?

A regular maintenance schedule should include thermal imaging, but immediate scans may also be needed to check for issues. Knowing when to schedule a thermal imaging scan will help keep your facility running smoothly and prevent downtime.

Here are some situations in which you should schedule a thermal scan with expert technicians:

1. After a Fault or Unexplained Intermittent Trip

If a circuit breaker trips without warning or for an unknown reason, then a thermal scan can help ensure that all equipment is operating appropriately or easily identify the culprit device.

Don’t guess at what’s causing a trip. It’s best to have professionals identify it immediately without having to rip anything apart or tear anything down.

2. When You Have Aging or Recently Changed Load Demands

For old equipment or in facilities where new equipment has been installed, adding new loads to the infrastructure, a thermal imaging scan may help ensure that demand is being handled properly without excessive overheating.

Old equipment is more likely to have issues, and new equipment can be unpredictable, so a thermal imaging scan is ideal to ensure it’s functioning properly.

3. Before a Planned Outage

Planned thermal imaging provides the information you need to order parts or plan your maintenance for the planned outage.

4. During Acceptance Testing

Before accepting anything like a transformer, substation, or other switchgear, running a thermal scan establishes a baseline and helps ensure the equipment was installed successfully.

This scan helps ensure that there are no major manufacturing defects or other installation issues and that your new equipment is ready to run.

Schedule Thermal Imaging Services With Blue Runner Switchgear

With over 25 years of experience across a wide range of industries across the United States, Blue Runner Switchgear offers the services and expertise you need to test, maintain, and repair critical power systems.

Contact us today to schedule thermal imaging services, set up a regular maintenance schedule for your facility, or discuss your electrical service needs.