The Megger team answer your questions about thermal imaging cameras.
You ask:
Many of my contractor friends are buying thermal imaging cameras; however, I’m not sure whether they’re just a gimmick, or whether they really do provide useful benefits. What’s your opinion?
We say:
They are certainly useful: once you’ve got one, you’ll probably wonder how you ever managed without it! They’re great for quickly surveying an installation to identify potential problems before you start work on it. Amongst the things a thermal imaging camera will help you to spot are: overloaded circuits in a distribution board, terminals that are heating up because they haven’t been properly tightened, and cables that are running hot. Good thermal imaging cameras, such as the Megger TC3231, will even let you blend a standard picture from a camera with the thermal image. That way, you can easily identify the source of the problem. Plus, you can store the blended images for later reference, or download them into a report. The TC3231 not only offers centre-spot temperature measurement, but it will also track and display the minimum and maximum temperatures on screen. Therefore, you’ll instantly see where any potential problem may lie. A thermal imaging camera can save you a lot of time by taking you straight to problem areas that would be harder to find using alternative methods.
For more Made 2 Measure articles from Megger, click here.
