Plant uptime or availability is critical for energy efficiency. Many manufacturing operations will measure their energy usage as a function of their production output. If production output falls as a result of plant breakdowns then the energy requirement per production unit will increase.
Planned Preventative Maintenance can help reduce the number of breakdowns and increase plant availability. A regular programme of Thermal Imaging can highlight any potential problems long before they result in a breakdown. It is therefore possible to plan and budget for repairs, allowing them to be fixed during planned downtime.
Thermal Imaging cameras are designed to detect radiation in the infra red spectrum which is invisible to the naked eye. The higher the temperature of an object the more infra red radiation it emits, therefore allowing variations in temperature to be seen.
It is this ability of determining temperatures that makes Thermal Imaging an incredibly valuable diagnostic tool for preventative maintenance. The process is non contact and non destructive and can highlight a number of problems.
For example, thermal imaging of electrical systems can highlight problems such as:
All these problems can lead to faults and breakdowns if not discovered in time.
TNEI’s Energy Management Team offers a thermal imaging survey for preventative maintenance purposes. During the course of a day we will take thermal images of electrical systems and critical components. After the survey a report of the thermal images will be produced allowing any imminent failures to be identified. If the service is carried out on a regular six monthly basis it will also allow us to build up a history of running temperatures and allow any gradual increases to be identified.
For full details of the service please contact us using the contacts page.