With all the procedural and operational measures that your commercial property requires on a daily or even hourly basis, it is easy to overlook infrared testing or thermography testing. It’s even easier to overlook when you don’t understand what thermography is, why it is vital for your electrical system, and how it works.
What Is Thermography?
Thermography is the study of heat, and in this case, as it applies to the electrical system of commercial properties. Even though some types of equipment naturally radiate heat when they are operational, your electrical system is one that shouldn’t. The emission of heat from any part of your property’s electrical system is an indication that there is something wrong in that particular area. But, because you can’t necessarily see heat being emitted, thermography testing can help to measure the heat and ‘see’ a temperature change.
How Does Thermography Work?
Thermography testing is done by measuring the amount of heat that certain systems emit within your commercial property. For instance, take a look at the photo to the right of ordinary hands. Because our blood is centralized in the center of our hands that part of our hand is much hotter than is the tips of our fingers. You can see the precise temperature difference by using an infrared camera to measure the heat. This similar method allows professionals to see the temperature of certain electrical systems, which can help to determine where problems might be occurring.
Why Is a Thermography Test Vital for Your Electrical System?
There are a number of reasons why thermography testing should be periodically done by your commercial business. First, heat can be a sign of arching in electrical systems, which indicates that your electrical system is not functioning as it should be. Sometimes, if gone untreated, arching can cause the entire electrical system breakdowns. So, the faster that you diagnose a problem, the faster the solution and the safer your system is.
Secondly, a thermography test is needed to ensure that your system is efficiently using energy and that there are fewer disruptions in the service of electricity to your commercial property. But, by ensuring both of these, you are also taking another step towards ensuring that your business does not face costly utility bills and repair bills. A properly functioning system can help to keep your profits where they need to be, rather than in the hands of service professionals who have to spend time fixing your system.
Finally, and certainly, most importantly, thermography testing can ensure the safety and security of your property and your employees. Arching has been known to cause commercial fires if it is not remedied quickly, which can cause thousands of dollars to make reparations and cost you days of lost production for your business. And, unfortunately, electrical fires have taken several lives when they break out unexpectedly. So, any business professional can understand that thermography can serve as an additional means to enforce safety in the workplace.
While this simply touches on many of the benefits and factors that go into this type of vital testing, you can clearly see that thermography is a necessary science that all commercial properties should be tested with regularly.
