Thermography (Infrared Inspection)
Thermography uses infrared cameras to map surface temperatures, revealing electrical hot spots, failing bearings, steam-trap faults, refractory damage and insulation gaps. It is a fast, non-contact condition-monitoring and energy-survey technique.
Because heat patterns betray developing faults, an infrared survey can find an overheating electrical connection, a blocked steam trap or a stripe of missing insulation without shutting equipment down. It is widely used both for predictive maintenance (electrical and mechanical) and for energy audits, where it quickly highlights where heat is escaping from pipework and vessels.
Related terms
Condition Monitoring · Heat Loss · Surface Temperature · Predictive Maintenance (PdM)
Related guides
Predictive maintenance: a practical guide
What predictive maintenance is, how it differs from preventive maintenance, which techniques fit which assets, and how to start without boiling the ocean.
Industrial heat loss and insulation
Why bare hot surfaces are a bigger loss than most plants realise, how to estimate it, and why valves and flanges are the usual culprits.
Where this applies
Conducting a hot-surface temperature survey · Running a leak detection and repair (LDAR) programme · Running a thermographic electrical survey programme · Vibration Analysis vs Thermography