White Paper: Thermal Inspection of High Voltage Electrical Panels©
Thermal imaging cameras have come a long way, haven't they? It wasn't that many years ago when Thermographers had to lug around twenty pounds [or more] of electronics strapped to their chest or placed on a handcart in order to get a Thermogram in a plant environment. Because thermal images were not considered high resolution by any means, visual reference pictures needed to be taken along with the thermal image just to see what you were looking at!
Well that has certainly all changed…hasn't it!
Today's IR cameras produce high-resolution images with thermal resolution in the hundreds of a degree. They are lightweight, very small in size, capable of operating with small camcorder-type batteries, and include numerous other features and functionality options. The industry now has access to more models and types of thermal imaging cameras than ever before in the history of the technology, while software programs for image analysis/report generation and camera controls are taking advantage of the new and powerful operating systems. Coupled with faster and lower cost computers, the market is expanding rapidly for infrared imaging.
Application Innovations:
Today, the commercial/industrial markets are being driven in two separate
directions. One being the traditional PPM market and the other On-Line Process
Control. Although similar [as far as technology is concerned], each is an "island of
its own" when it comes to plant level personnel involvement and end use
applications. Each has its own specific requirements, lending it to differences in
equipment choices.
To this point we want to talk about a PPM application requirement that has increased in prominence with the introduction of NFPA 70E safety requirements for personnel involved with thermal inspections of medium and high voltage equipment panels.
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