Heat is the early warning
Contact resistance at a loose or corroded termination dissipates power as heat. Long before there is smoke, discolouration or a trip, there is a measurable temperature rise — and a thermal imager sees it on a live, loaded system without a shutdown.
In field studies we have recorded hot spots at 129 °C and 131 °C on wiring connection points and 120 °C to 123 °C on MCCB assemblies, in installations that passed visual inspection.
How the study is structured
- Survey under representative load, with load recorded alongside each image
- Paired visual and thermal images for every observation
- Phase-to-phase comparison to separate loading from contact resistance
- Severity classification and a prioritised corrective action list
Making it routine
Thermography delivers most value when it is periodic and trended, and when findings feed the planned maintenance window rather than an incident report. Re-imaging after correction closes the loop and confirms the fix.