Thermography as a Tool in Electric Panels Maintenance

This paper presents a study to compare gains obtained in hydroelectric generators availability based on thermo vision analysis in electrical panels. Electrical Energy generation companies increase their attention to maintenance costs, specially related with labour costs. A part of maintenance activities demands in industries are related to maintenance of electrical panels. It is important to reduce the execution time of those activities while maintaining the quality of the service. A predictive technique widely used is the thermo vision, that makes use of infrared radiation sensing (heat) emitted by equipments over the absolute temperature. The diagnose obtained is based on the comparison between the radiation intensity from the analyzed equipment and a temperature reference to the same equipment, so verifying the operation conditions compared to standard conditions. This can be of great importance for unplanned corrective actions. Every electrical equipment or system presents heat conditions before a failure. This characteristic can reduce inspections stops or repairs, increasing equipments availability, so reducing costs and increasing the efficiency of the process.