Beyond IR thermography:

how continuous thermal

monitoring improves performance
and equipment protection

by Markus Hirschbold and Dominique Chabert

Executive summary
For many years, scheduled infrared
thermography inspections have been the
accepted method for reducing the risk of fire
by identifying faulty or loose connections in
electrical distribution systems. Continuous
thermal monitoring offers a safer, more
effective way to detect thermal risks on a
system-wide, 24/7 basis. The method also
delivers up to a 10:1 return on investment due
to avoided equipment damage and downtime.
 Schneider Electric White Paper 2

Introduction In 2017, Atlanta’s Hartsfield airport experienced an electrical fire caused by a failure in a
piece of switchgear. Located in a tunnel beneath the airport, the fire crippled both the main
power system and its backup.1 Delta Airlines say they lost up to US$50 million in revenue
because of the power outage. They had to cancel over 1400 flights.2

Every year, electrical fires produce devastating consequences in all kinds of facilities. For
Thermal inspection critical buildings like hospitals, airports, or data centers, major financial losses, injuries, and
standards even deaths can be the result.

In the US, multiple Electrical fires are not uncommon. They account for 22 percent of workplace fires.3 In
regulatory bodies have hospitals, electrical fires have been identified as the number one cause of fires after
set standards for cooking-related incidents.4
thermal inspections.
The NFPA 70B standard Defects in medium voltage (MV) and low voltage (LV) distribution system wiring and
is one example. switches, or defects in motors, are often the source of electrical fires.5 According to the
National Electrical Testing Association (NETA), one major insurance carrier estimates
See the references that approximately 25 percent of all major electrical failures are due to loose or faulty
section at the end of this connections.6
paper for a selected list
Consequently, many insurance companies, the National Fire Protection Administration
of standards.
(NFPA), and many other regulatory bodies require annual thermal surveys to reduce this
risk. Driven by these requirements, thermal surveys have become general practice to
mitigate the risk of faulty connections in all kinds of buildings.

Figure 1
Electrical fires are
devastating for critical
power facilities, in terms
of damages, downtime,
injuries, and loss of life.

1 ‘Atlanta airport mess: How does this happen?’, CNN Money, December 2017
2 ‘Delta says it lost up to $50 million because of the Atlanta airport power outage’, Business Insider, December 2017
3 Electrical Contractor Magazine, “Fire in the Workplace”, 2004
4 ‘Hospital Fires (2012-2014)’, NFIRS Data Snapshot, FEMA
5 ‘Fire in the Workplace’, EC&M, 2004
6 ‘Top Five Switchgear Failure Causes’, NETA World, 2010

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 3

Up until now, thermal surveys have been performed using infrared (IR) thermography
technology. Though this method is effective when done in compliance with regulations,
surveys are performed only on a scheduled basis. And as each test is necessarily
performed in close proximity to live electrical equipment, personnel can be put at risk.

This paper will discuss the emergence of continuous thermal monitoring technology.
Compared to IR thermography, this method offers a safer and more comprehensive way to
detect thermal risks across an entire medium and low voltage electrical distribution system.

The causes of A major cause of failure in MV and LV installations is faulty electrical connections,
especially connections made on-site.
electrical fires Cable, busbar, and withdrawable circuit breaker connections can start to deteriorate
due to loose connections caused by improper tightening torque or constant vibrations
over time. Deterioration can also occur because of damaged surfaces due to corrosion,
excessive pressure, or excessive friction.

These conditions can be made worse by two types of conditions:

Case study: • Frequent temperature cycling. Fluctuations between cold nights and hot days, or low and high
Chemical plant current, cause increased and decreased tightness of a connection. This, in turn, contributes
A major global supplier to loosening.
of lithium products • Frequent on/off switching. This generates an electromagnetic shock on the busbar and the
needed to ensure a new connection points that can cause those connections to loosen.
chemical processing
plant operated with
the highest possible
Problems due to servicing
reliability.
In addition, the following service malpractices have been observed in some substations:
The MV switchgear was
equipped with networked • During cable insulation testing. To perform these DC current tests, cables must be
thermal sensors. Thermal dismantled. The following problems can occur during re-assembly:
monitoring was provided • The old electrical grease is not cleaned or replaced
locally at the substation
as well as through data • Improper tightening torque is used
integration with the on-
• Improper positioning of contact washer
site SCADA system.
• During draw-in of a withdrawable circuit breaker. A mechanical problem occurs due to the
Thermal monitoring on misalignment of clamps.
all connection points
• Installation of a spare circuit breaker. Problems can occur when contacts have already
is helping the plant’s
operations team ensure shown surface deterioration or damage.
continuity of service,
increased safety, and
reduced maintenance
costs due to minimal
on-site testing.

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 4

Thermal runaway, connection failure, and fire

In any of the conditions noted above, a critical sequence of events begins to occur:

1. Increasing electrical contact resistance accelerates further deterioration.

2. This increased resistance induces a temperature rise.
3. High temperatures deteriorate the connection surface even more.
4. The further deteriorated surface leads to a further increase in contact re-sistance.
5. The resulting thermal runaway will cause complete connection failure.
6. Fire, flashover, and explosions can occur.
7. In the worst cases, this leads to the destruction of the switchgear and severe injury to
the operator.

Early detection of abnormal busbar temperature rises caused by faulty connections will,
in most cases, prevent electrical failures and fire. Therefore, insurance companies and
regulatory bodies now require thermal inspections to be performed regularly, addressing
the highest-risk parts of electrical distribution systems.

Traditional IR The most common and traditional approach for thermal inspections is carried out using IR
thermography. A thermal camera is used to inspect areas of the electrical equipment that
thermography represent the highest thermal risks.

IR thermography is usually conducted at regular intervals such as every 6, 12, or 24

months. The potential weakness of this approach is that periodic surveys do not always
alert maintenance teams early enough when there is fast deterioration at connection
points. Also, restricted access to some electrical rooms due to safety regulations can
complicate periodic testing and cause even more thermal risks to be missed.

Figure 2
IR thermography is
a manual, scheduled
approach that uses a
thermal camera to test
for temperature increases
at high-risk points within
MV and LV switchgear.
An IR window in the
switchgear door provides
camera access.

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 5

IR thermography also typically requires an IR window installed in the switchgear door to

provide adequate camera access for testing of the live equipment. For LV equipment, the
operator often has to open door panels to check connections. There can also be limited
accessibility and visibility of the contact points, especially with busbars, so positioning
the camera can be challenging. For these reasons, there are safety concerns for testing
of some types of switchgear and transformers due to the risk of the technician being
exposed to an arc flash.

Finally, manually-conducted IR thermography surveys are costly. Even so, the return
on investment can be high. According to an article by Cody Jackson, an experienced
thermographer with JTI Services in Massachusetts, IR thermography inspections, when
followed by timely repairs, can provide a US$4 benefit for every US$1 value of the IR
inspection. This is because infrared inspections can catch symptoms of problems before
they cause equipment failure.7

Figure 3
Typical thermographic scan
of cable connections inside
of electrical switchgear,
showing increased
heating on one of the three
connection points.

Image courtesy of Infrared

Imaging Services

Continuous Continuous thermal monitoring is a relatively new solution that offers several advantages
over IR thermography, with even greater potential ROI.
thermal In contrast to the manual, interval-based approach of IR thermography, thermal monitoring
monitoring is performed continuously. Abnormal temperature rises or thermal runaways are detected
in real-time.

‘Three Ways Infrared Thermography Improves Electrical Maintenance’, IRInfo.org

7

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 6

Advantages of continuous monitoring

Case study: Whereas IR scanning might miss critical conditions if they occur between scheduled
Facebook data scans, they will unlikely be missed by a thermal monitoring system. In addition, thermal
center monitoring systems will typically include automated alert capabilities. A thermal event will
immediately send alarms to operations and maintenance teams, giving them more time to
An international respond before any equipment damage occurs.
Facebook data center
in Sweden experienced An additional benefit of continuous thermal monitoring is the ability to use a current
two arc flashes on an level-based temperature model as a reference. Busbar and connection temperatures
overhead 5000 amp fluctuate with the amount of current flowing in the conductor. Therefore, by knowing the
busway. Fortunately, current it is possible to better predict the busbar temperature and compare it to the actual
the events were limited temperature. This makes this type of analysis more accurate and provides more finely
to one of four power tuned alarm sensitivity. In other words, abnormal temperature rises can be detected
rooms and there were no more readily.
injuries or downtime as
a result.

A post-event analysis
Thermal sensor technology for low-density MV and LV
revealed that the bolts connection points
securing many of the There are two recent innovations to use for continuous thermal monitoring applications:
busway joints were not
properly torqued during 1. Thermal sensors
assembly. Over time
this created a thermal This technology relies on permanently installed sensors on individual connection
‘avalanche’ effect that points. This is best suited for low-density applications with few connection points.
eventually caused a joint Thermal sensors are installed on all important connection points and other thermal risk
to fail. The review also locations throughout the electrical distribution system. This can include:
identified the inadequacy
of IR scans to identify hot • MV switchgear. Sensors should be located on incoming cables, busbar, and withdrawable
spots at busway joints. circuit breaker connections.

• MV/LV transformer. Sensors should be located on the transformer MV input, windings,

After all busway joints taps, and LV output.
were properly torqued,
a complete thermal • LV busway. Electrical busways are also made up of many connections to facilitate tap-
monitoring system was off points, corners, elbows, or ‘joint packs.’ The joints are areas where improperly made
implemented, consisting connections can result in an increased risk of an electrical fire. Fortunately, busways do not
of 1500 wireless sensors require a special window and are often readily accessible for IR scanning. They are also ideally
installed on busway suited for the installation of wireless thermal sensors specifically designed for this application.
runs. Data integrated
with the facility’s building • LV switchgear. For large incoming LV cable and busbar connections, thermal sensors can be
management system is utilized to obtain the temperatures of individual connection points. For higher-density connections
helping provide early within LV cabinets, the IDD technology described in the next section should be chosen.
alerts to thermal issues
to avoid the risk of arc
A typical thermal sensor can be approximately 4 x 4 cm in size. These are installed
flash in the future.
directly on MV and LV connection points, typically with some form of strapping system
(see Figure 4). Sensors can be used on new or existing installations. For LV busways,
Learn more.
installation can typically be done keeping the circuit live, as long as proper safety
precautions are followed.

Sensors can be designed for dedicated thermal monitoring. Some may offer additional
capabilities, such as humidity monitoring.

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 7

Many thermal sensors take advantage of advances in wireless connectivity. This

greatly simplifies the installation of sensors, especially in retrofit scenarios. It also
eliminates any isolation or insulation issues caused by the sensing wires.

Sensors can be designed to be bus-powered or powered by a battery. This further

simplifies installation.

2. Insulation decomposition detection: for high-density LV cabinets

While thermal sensors are well-suited to lower-density connection points, thermal monitoring
for smaller conductors and high-density wiring within LV cabinets is more challenging.

Emerging insulation decomposition detection (IDD) technology offers an effective solution

by detecting cable thermal decomposition in a range of temperatures that provides early
warning of an imminent risk of fire. IDD offers a simple and reliable way to preventively
detect cable connection issues for the great majority of LV cable types on the market while
providing unique benefits versus other established fire detection systems.

IDD requires only a single smart sensor to be located at the top of each column or
cabinet. The sensor analyzes gas and particles, taking advantage of the behavior
of cable insulation decomposition during a thermal runaway situation, detecting
this abnormal condition before any smoke or insulator browning occurs. The sensor
detects an overheating problem with any cable inside that column of the cabinet,
enabling a solution that is more simple and quicker to install and integrate.

Note that thermal sensors can be a good complement to IDD technology, with the former
used on all larger lower-density connection points, and the latter used for smaller high-
density cable connections within LV cabinets.

Figure 4
Typical installation of
thermal sensors on (A)
busbars, (B) IDD, and
(C) busway

A B C

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 8

Communications architecture
It would simply not be practical to manually check the temperature readings of each
permanently mounted sensor regularly. Wireless connectivity enables 24/7 monitoring,
with constant scanning of all sensors to detect abnormal temperatures.

nuous Thermal Monitoring

Sensors form a complete, facility-wide thermal monitoring network. Using wireless
data concentrators and other communication interfaces, as necessary, thermal data is
uploaded automatically and continuously to local and cloud-based analytic applications.
Thermal monitoring may be offered as a core function or modular add-on to a power and
energy management system solution.

Cloud-hosted analytic app On-site analytic app

Local HMI Mobile HMI

LAN

Figure 5
Typical thermal monitoring Wireless Data Concentrator and
Communications Interface with
system showing wireless data processing8
sensors feeding data to
cloud-hosted and on-site
Thermal Thermal Thermal
analytic applications sensors sensors sensors

Thermal
sensors

MV switchgear Transformer LV switchgear LV busway

• Busbar • MV input • Busbar • Junctions
Environmental • Circuit breaker • LV output Environmental • Circuit breaker • Tap-offs
sensors • Cables into cubicle • Tapping sensors • Cables into cubicle
• Winding

Alarming and
erty of Schneider Electric
One of the key benefits of continuous thermal monitoring is near real-time alarming. If
a sensor reading shows an abnormal temperature rise at any connection point or in the
analytics insulation of any cable, an alarm will be generated at the software level. The software can
be configured to immediately send a notification to the mobile devices of local operation
and maintenance teams.

Local or cloud-based applications should allow temperature and, if available, humidity

to be visualized by area, equipment, and individual sensor. Applications that also
provide long-term trending of thermal data can help personnel detect slow deterioration,
addressing issues well before they cause a problem.

One data concentrator can monitor one or more equipment depending on their physical separation.
8

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 9

Figure 6
Thermal monitoring
screen showing status of
networked thermal and
environmental sensors,
with alarm conditions
highlighted in red

Figure 7
Thermal trend graph
showing an abnormal
temperature rise on one
phase of a transformer.

Case study:
Harbor terminal
One of the largest
shipping terminals in the
western Mediterranean
needed the highest
safety and reliability for
two secondary power
distribution substations.

A complete power Beyond the improved accuracy offered by the current level-based temperature modeling
management system noted above, thermal analytics may also provide a phase-to-phase comparison. This can
was installed, featuring help further differentiate and isolate a problem, for example, if one phase of a 3-phase
thermal monitoring on transformer starts to exhibit a thermal runaway condition. In this particular example, if the
cable connections, with transformer has not completely failed, load shedding could be implemented to reduce the
data integrated with load on that phase to a safer level until a transformer replacement can be scheduled.
the SCADA and asset
management systems.
Outsourced services
The solution helps Many of the newest cloud-based power and energy management solutions allow for
predict potential failures data sharing with outsourced expert services. As part of this strategy, facility teams can
to maintain uptime outsource thermal monitoring tasks. A contracted third-party maintenance service that
and increase safety provides analytic and advisory services can monitor multiple facilities from a central
while improving asset operations center.
management efficiency.

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 10

These services enable predictive, condition-based maintenance, ensuring maintenance

is focused where it is needed, the right maintenance is performed at the right time, and
maintenance spend is optimized.

Increased ROI When compared to IR thermography, continuous thermal monitoring offers a significant
increase in return on investment over time. The following is a cost comparison example for
ten MV switchgear cubicles.

Table 1 Price

Cost comparison for IR Example: 10 MV cubicles CAPEX OPEX TOTAL

thermography versus Periodic thermographic survey* €2800 €10,000 €12,800

a continuous thermal Thermal monitoring hardware and
€5000 €0 €5000
monitoring system connection to locally-hosted app

* Based on 1 visit every 2 years, €1000 per switchboard per visit, over a 20 year lifetime.

In this example, IR thermography costs approximately 2.5 times more than thermal
monitoring over a 20-year lifetime. Based on the 4:1 cost-benefit analysis of thermal
surveys by JTI above, the resulting ROI for continuous thermal monitoring would be
approximately 10:1. Therefore:

For every euro/dollar invested in thermal monitoring, 10 euros/dollars

in potential equipment damage is avoided.

This, of course assumes that any identified issues are followed up with timely repairs.

As previously noted, the recent Atlanta Hartsfield airport incident resulted in close to
US$50 million in losses for Delta Airlines. Adding in all other airlines, the overall damages
were most likely well over US$100 million. This makes it easy to justify many millions in a
thermal monitoring solution to avoid a similar incident in the future.

Wireless continuous thermal monitoring is the best way to detect abnormal temperature
Conclusion rises in any electrical distribution infrastructure before they lead to equipment failure,
major financial losses or worse, loss of human life.

Over the typical 20-year lifetime of most switchgear, continuous thermal monitoring is estimated
to be 2.5 times more cost-effective than IR thermography. It is also a safer alternative, as it
avoids the need to expose personnel to live equipment and the risk of arc flash.

Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection
 Schneider Electric White Paper 11

In terms of improving reliability and uptime, a thermal monitoring system identifies thermal
issues that arise faster than the typical IR scanning intervals. It also provides higher
accuracy in identifying thermal risks when offering current level-based temperature
modeling and phase-to-phase comparisons. And near real-time alarming enables service
teams to respond quickly to risks before downtime and damage can occur.

We recognize that in many jurisdictions, infrared scanning is required by codes and

standards. In this case, continuous thermal monitoring still makes sense to complement IR
scanning. And, IR scanning intervals could be reduced to the maximum allowable intervals.

About the authors

Markus Hirschbold (P.Eng., CEM, PMP)
Markus is responsible for offer creation of EcoStruxure Power, the IoT-connected solutions of Schneider
Electric, designed to improve every aspect of power distribution systems. He has held various key
positions in R&D, Services, Power Quality, Project Management, and Offer Marketing in over two decades
of tenure at Schneider Electric.

Dominique Chabert
Dominique is in charge of offer creation for medium voltage products and MV/LV transformers including
integration with the EcoStruxure Power program. He has held various positions in R&D, Marketing, and
Project Management for the Contracting and Medium Voltage departments for Schneider Electric.

Resources IR standards, specifications, and guidelines

For an extensive list of organizations that publish infrared standards, infrared
specifications, and infrared guidelines for performing infrared inspections and/or related
testing, please refer to this page at IRINFO.org.

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Schneider Electric
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Beyond IR thermography: how continuous thermal monitoring

improves safety, uptime, and equipment protection