An infrared electrical scan provides you with important information about the safety of the electrical system in your building. A scan might even be required or recommended by your insurance company. You'll learn about problems you wouldn't notice otherwise. Here's how an infrared electrical scan works.
An Electrician Takes Images With An Infrared Camera
An infrared electrical scan is done with a camera that's capable of taking infrared images. These cameras take images with color based on the temperature of the objects being scanned. For instance, if the electrician takes a picture of your electrical panel and one circuit is red while the others are not, that indicates the red circuit is much hotter than the others and has a problem.
This is possible because an infrared camera detects thermal energy that is in a different part of the spectrum than visible light. When a wire heats up behind a wall, the wall is heated too. This is why an infrared camera can detect problems behind walls.
The Images Show Hazardous Electrical Situations
Knowing the circuit is bad even when there are no other signs gives the electrician the opportunity to repair the electrical panel to fix the problem before the heat sparks a fire or melts the wiring and leads to other problems. Electrical malfunctions often produce heat. However, heat is invisible except to an infrared camera. By doing a scan of your building, the electrician can find problems early so it's possible to prevent building fires or electrical breakdowns.
Plus, a nice benefit of an infrared electrical scan is that it can be done without disruptions or service interruptions. The electrical inspection is quick, accurate, and convenient to have done.
An Infrared Electrical Scan Finds A Variety Of Issues
Heat can be generated for a number of reasons. By taking a scan, the electrician can find equipment that's bad, loose wiring connections, overloaded circuits, open circuits, and other electrical problems. This can prevent damage to equipment and electrical failures that disrupt your productivity.
An infrared electrical scan can be done as a standalone inspection, part of routine maintenance, or to track down a malfunction so repairs can be done. You might want to include infrared scanning as part of your routine building maintenance so you can prevent serious problems and hazards that could destroy part of your building or equipment.
While your utmost concern might be for the safety of your electrical system, an infrared inspection has other purposes too, such as hunting down water and air leaks in your building. A reliable and easy infrared building inspection could let you know about moisture problems on your roof and leaks in your plumbing. So, you may want to consider other infrared inspections when you have your electrical system scanned.
One of the great things about electrical setups is that almost anyone can engage in simple electrical repairs if you spend your time learning about it. With the proper knowledge and training, you can switch out your face plates, install a new outlet, or change out your light fixtures.
At Buy Electrical Supplies, we aim to give you how to make electrical repairs and upgrades to your space and help you learn what tools you need to make those repairs and upgrades. We also aim to help you determine when you can take on any electrical job on your own and when you should bring in someone else to assist.