Over the past thirty years, a number of organizations have published temperature severity guidelines for infrared inspections of electrical and mechanical components. When using these guidelines, a thermographer may compare the temperature of similar components under similar load to each other OR compare the temperature of a component to ambient air temperature. The former of these approaches is recommended since ambient temperature can swing widely over time. Furthermore, it is often impossible to obtain an accurate ambient temperature for devices located within an enclosure once the enclosure has been opened for an infrared inspection.
One of the most conservative temperature guides can be found in the Standard for Maintenance Testing Specifications, published by the InterNational Electrical Testing Association headquartered in Portage, Michigan. According to the NETA MTS, temperature differentials greater than 15 Celsius degrees are categorized as, "Major discrepancy; repair immediately."
Other organizations publish less conservative temperature guidelines than the NETA MTS. Some guidelines require Delta T’s of 70 Celsius degrees or higher to qualify as items of immediate concern. When setting temperature limits, one should remember that temperature differentials cannot be utilized to predict time to failure for an electrical device. Therefore, all thermal anomalies detected during an infrared inspection should be investigated and proper corrective measures undertaken as soon as possible.
FREE Online Courses
For a limited time, Infraspection Institute is offering two free online training courses. These courses are available through
SuccessIRies™ – a series of web-based short courses for thermographers and inspection professionals. SuccessIRies™ courses are available 24/7 via an internet connection and cover a wide variety of topics.
Typically 30 to 60 minutes in length, SuccessIRies™ are narrated short courses that are the perfect way to keep abreast of the latest developments in the rapidly evolving field of thermography. SuccessIRies™ also meet continuing education requirements for professional inspectors.
Using RSS News Feeds to Boost Your Website Traffic
RSS feeds have become a means for automatically receiving information from web publishers on a wide variety of topics. RSS feeds can provide thermographers with up-to-the minute news and information on thermography and related PdM and NDT topics.
Thermographers who have a website can benefit from an RSS feed by having industry news and information automatically delivered to their website. This is accomplished via software programs called "News Readers" or "RSS Aggregators." By running your aggregator in automatic mode, it will periodically check the internet to see whether selected feeds have been updated. If the aggregator finds an update, it will download the updated information to your website. Visitors to your website can then click on headlines of interest to read the full story.
In addition to automatically providing content to your website, hosting an RSS feed can increase both your site traffic and its visibility. By using an RSS feed to update your website with timely, relevant information, your site can serve as a resource to your clients and is more likely to be favorably ranked by search engines.
Both infraspection.com and irinfo.org offer free news feeds. URLs for both feeds may be found by clicking on the "More Information" link below.
The Infraspection Online Store is a vital resource for practicing thermographers. In addition to official Infraspection clothing, we offer training manuals, reference books and CDs, software, and thermal images. Infraspection Institute Certified Infrared Thermographers also qualify for free downloads from the store.
Electronic documents such as standards, proposal templates, graphics, and the ASNT Compliant Written Practice are available for immediate download upon transaction approval.
For your convenience, we accept Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover. Our secure servers ensure the safety and privacy of your transaction. As always, we do not sell or share our customer lists with other companies.
For a limited time, Infraspection Institute is offering two free online training courses. These courses are available through
RSS feeds have become a means for automatically receiving information from web publishers on a wide variety of topics. RSS feeds can provide thermographers with up-to-the minute news and information on thermography and related PdM and NDT topics.
The Infraspection Online Store is a vital resource for practicing thermographers. In addition to official Infraspection clothing, we offer training manuals, reference books and CDs, software, and thermal images. Infraspection Institute Certified Infrared Thermographers also qualify for free downloads from the store.
