It is a fact that if something gets overheated the chances of it breaking down or malfunctioning increases dramatically. For this reason, using thermography is quickly becoming a necessity for ensuring appliances and other equipment perform as expected without unnecessary breakdowns. It is worth mentioning here that all the objects with a temperature higher than -273OC tend to emit infrared radiation.
The purpose of thermal imaging equipment is to capture this infrared radiation and turn into an image that is clearly visible. In addition to this, thermal imaging cameras instantly measure temperatures and convert available images into an understandable electronic format so that the available data can be further processed.
Benefits of Thermography
Apart from its industrial use, thermography in Montreal helps homeowners reduce energy loss from their homes. It can also be used for analyzing the optimal location for expanding foam, new windows, and weather stripping to get the best results. These cameras highlight the sections of your home where maximum energy efficiency can be achieved.
Energy testing carried out using thermal imaging equipment help locate energy leaks so they can be fixed. This reduces your heating and cooling costs. The best time to perform these tests is in the winter, when the temperature difference between outside and indoors is at its peak. If the image shows brighter areas, it clearly highlights the fact that heat loss is taking place in your home.
Thermography can also be used for detecting water accumulation in flat roofs where venting is rarely implemented. If leaks occur, insulation can easily get wet, and stay wet. Fixing these problems will result in considerable energy savings.
Detecting heat variations and cold spots caused by air leakages is easy when thermal imaging devices are used. The images help homeowners see whether more insulation is required, and check to see if insulation has been installed correctly. They can also be used to locate roof leaks.
So whether you’re starting a house remodelling or a new construction, thermography is a useful tool for making the house completely air tight with the right repairs and modifications.
How Thermography Helps You Save Money
Let’s explore some of the main benefits of thermography:
Better Energy Efficiency
Thermography helps us improve energy efficiency, which in turn results in bigger savings. It has proved to be an effective method for analyzing and then implementing corrective measures for improving energy efficiency in sectors such as manufacturing. Let’s look at the paper industry, for example, where thermography is very helpful in reducing expenditures.
- In the paper industry, thermography is used for detecting hot roll bearings. Hot roll bearings can often cause production breakdowns as well as greater energy consumption to turn the rolls.
- Thermal imaging can also be used to detect plugged motor intakes, which usually result in breakdowns or at the very least, a significant increase in energy consumption.
- Thermography helps to track steam coil leaks and assists in lowering the amount of steam required for drying paper products. This in turn results in considerable energy savings.
- It can also be used for checking the paper web’s moisture profile to identify process components that are causing moisture streaks. These moisture streaks are responsible for higher energy consumption in the paper drying phase of production.
Innovative Uses
Thermography can also be used to inspect the adhesion integrity of welded plastic joints. It can even be beneficial in the inspection of many defective behaviours found. These novel uses make thermography an effective and adaptable inspection tool.
Predict and Prevent Failures
Thermography is helpful in both predicting and preventing problems. Let us look at an example to illustrate this. Suppose there is a logistics company and its metering conveyor malfunctions. Thermography is useful for fault detection. Thermal imaging can also be helpful in the creation of OEM specifications as they are applied to the correct lubrication of machinery.
Thermography also assists in identify mechanical systems that are inadequately lubricated – a scenario that can result in electrical systems getting dangerously overheated.
Preventative repairs and proactive servicing of the different gear reducers can help a logistics company make considerable cost savings by reducing expenses incurred due to breakdowns and subsequent repairs.
Regular thermographic analysis also helps logistics companies reduce the frequency of failures in metering conveyors, so they too can experience considerable yearly savings. Moreover, a reduction in downtime caused by a system failure helps a company provide better service to its customers and earn more business.
Industrial Applications of Thermography
There are a lot of different industrial applications for thermography. For example, it is helpful in both monitoring and troubleshooting vis-a-vis the condition specific systems, structures, or machinery are in. It goes well beyond the simple inspection of electrical equipment.
Such wide array of applications makes thermal imaging an effective means of improving efficiency in the manufacturing sector, in managing energy consumption, in improving product quality, and in improving safety for workers. Let us now look at some of the applications for thermography:
- Supervision and Detection: Properly supervising production processes as well as detecting hidden faults.
- Measurement: Detecting and measuring the presence of excessive heat in mechanical and electrical devices.
- Identification: Identifying defects in insulation and blockages in pipework.
- Optimization: Optimizing product development as well as research and development (R&D).
- Improvements: Improving production output.
A Final Note
Finally, we can say that there is a growing trend that focuses on development of lightweight, less expensive, and more versatile thermal imaging cameras. These developments make thermography quite valuable as a money saving tool, as well as a tool for the optimization of efficient energy consumption during operations. Thermography is playing a vital role in promoting both innovation and the research and development of new technologies.
If you’d like to get more insights as to the ways thermography can help you, get in touch with our experts in Montreal.