What is thermal monitoring for?
The main causes of fires and reduced lifespan in electrical equipment are poor contact or faulty connections, where increased temperature is the main symptom and an indicator of a potential imminent problem. Thermal monitoring allows organizations to detect symptoms in these connections that, without intervention, could lead to electrical outages or, worse yet, a fire. Without early identification, the deterioration of a faulty electrical connection further increases thermal resistance, consequently generating a higher temperature, which ultimately results in thermal runaway and, ultimately, complete failure. The next step toward a breakdown is a phenomenon known as an arc flash, followed by a fire, or even an explosion. At this point, unexpected plant shutdown is inevitable, in addition to catastrophic consequences such as total equipment destruction or even death or personal injury.
How to solve the problem?
Continuous thermal monitoring is the evolution of periodic infrared inspection.
Traditionally, maintenance teams conduct inspections with infrared reading equipment to detect occasional overheating that could develop into situations like the one described above. However, this monitoring represents static information that does not indicate the trend or actual status of the infrastructure or equipment connection. A one-off reading can be taken at a specific time of day when the load is lower or on a winter day when the outside temperature does not affect operation. To avoid this type of reading, where the inspection result does not represent the entire system behavior, such as a peak situation and consequently a risk to operation, we recommend continuous thermal monitoring.
Through sensors installed in electrical equipment, the continuous thermal monitoring solution offers 24/7 protection, with integrated temperature data and real-time notifications for the maintenance team of critical electrical assets.
This allows electrical maintenance teams to predict failures, protect electrical equipment, and optimize performance, promoting reduced maintenance costs. With power outages posing an increasingly critical threat to organizations, the need for innovative thermal monitoring solutions for industry maximizes uptime by predicting failures before they occur. Additional benefits offered by this technology include increased personnel safety and extended asset life.
Continuous thermal monitoring allows the electrical engineering team to:
- Predict electrical failures and optimize maintenance;
- Transmit real-time data in a structured way
- Proactively notify maintenance technicians of changes in reading behavior
- Increase reliability and maximize uptime;
- Reduce OPEX costs and increase operational efficiency;
- Reduce risks and increase personnel and operational safety.
As awareness of the benefits of thermal condition monitoring technology grows, monitoring mission-critical electrical infrastructure becomes easier.
Thermal monitoring sensors can be installed on electrical assets such as LV/MV regulators, Motor Control Centers (MCCs), Uninterruptible Power Supplies (UPS), power distribution panels, and transformers.
- These essential electrical assets are used in a wide variety of industries, including:
- Oil and gas
- Mining
- Data centers
- Sanitation and wastewater
- Food and Beverage Industry
- Retail logistics
- Critical infrastructure
- Manufacturing
- Hospitals
Surprisingly, using an industrial IoT platform for high-quality continuous thermal monitoring represents significant cost savings and a very high ROI for operations, as the installation is often neglected and unmonitored operations are always subject to unforeseen events.
Therefore, continuous thermal sensing of key assets allows for the prevention of potential threats such as unexpected shutdowns, costly repairs and replacements of electrical assets, and the risk of injury to people involved in the operation.
Assessment of the condition of electrical equipment:
Beyond these high-risk scenarios, energy is the most essential input for any organization. A failure can result in loss of power to critical systems, which, in turn, depending on the nature and/or severity of the failure, impacts downtime, lost productivity, and repair or replacement costs. Electrical equipment is inherently dangerous; a heat failure can lead to serious injuries, fires, infrastructure damage, or even death.
Above Above-Net partners with Exertherm and offers, in conjunction with Bridgemeter®, continuous thermal power monitoring for critical infrastructure.
