FYI – 25/30/40 Year Building Re-Certification Inspections & Infrared Inspections
Yes, an infrared survey is required for buildings with a main service of 400 amps or greater, performed by a Level II or higher certified infrared thermographer who is qualified and trained to recognize and document thermal anomalies in electrical systems and possesses over seven years of experience in commercial inspections.
Depending on the engineering company responsible for the certification, the infrared survey may include a visual inspection, as both surveys require panel covers to be removed.
- At this time, infrared surveys are under review with no expectations that they will be required for certification. There is discussion that building inspections will be moved from 40 years old to 25 years old.
- EVERY building could benefit from an infrared scan at least once in its lifetime. FYI - National Fire Protection Agency - FPA70E recommends annual infrared inspections of electrical systems to improve safety and reliability for building occupants.
Miami-Dade specifies Level-II Certification for the 25/30/40 Year Re-certification. Level-II is a certification of competency, it is not a type of inspection. It assures that the thermographer is trained to collect temperature data, understands the limitation of collecting temperature data and is qualified to evaluate severity of problems, based on the temperature and load conditions collected during the survey. All of Brady Infrared thermographers are Level-II certified and have over 7 years of experiences inspecting electrical systems. Every infrared report is reviewed by a Level-III thermographer before being sent to the client.
No, not currently, however, we encourage you to reach out to your engineering firm to discuss this option. EVERY building could benefit from an infrared scan at least once in its lifetime. FYI - National Fire Protection Agency - FPA70E recommends annual infrared inspections of electrical systems to improve safety and reliability for building occupants.
An infrared electrical survey is a passive scan of your electrical system using a hand-held thermal imaging camera. When performed by a trained and qualified thermographer, heat related problems associated with loose / deteriorated connections, overload conditions on conductors and their protective devices, load imbalances, defective components and other heat related items can be found. In some cases, cold conditions on equipment can indicate dead circuits and single-phase conditions on mechanical equipment.
Panel covers must be removed to provide a direct-line-of-sight to items being inspected. Infrared cameras do not see through metal panel covers. Small temperature rises on problematic components can often appear as normal conditions with panel covers on.
Equipment being inspected must be under load. The infrared camera sees current flow and how it interacts with conductive pathways throughout the electrical system. Points of high resistance in the form of loose connections and overload components will become unusually hot as the current battles to flow through these areas.
If a piece of equipment is not operating at the time of the inspection there will be no current flow, which may lead to a thermal problem going undetected. It is critical that these “No Load” components be identified to avoid a false sense of security that nothing is wrong with that equipment. This stresses the importance of having a visual inspection performed during the infrared survey as a second means of detection.
No, it is not. This opens the door for any person or company to offer infrared surveys. However, guidelines exist, albeit voluntary, to help bolster the professional reputation of the infrared industry. Infrared technology is one of many testing methods that fall under the American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT). ASNT has stringent requirements for a person to become a certified infrared thermographer. ASNT inspectors are qualified to work in testing laboratories associated with aero-space companies, nuclear power plants and other quality control testing laboratories.
The typical infrared commercial service provider does not fall under the requirements of ASNT certification. However, ASNT has developed a guideline (ASNT-SNT-TC-1A) that helps infrared companies certify and train their employees to properly carry out infrared inspections. With regards to certifications, there are nationally recognized training facilities available throughout the USA that offer formal training courses for Level-I, -II and -III certifications. These courses range from infrared applications to designing and implementing infrared inspection programs while some infrared service providers elect to train through in-house methods. This is an excellent opportunity for anyone interested in entering the field of infrared to start off on the right foot and learn from professional thermographers, with years of experience under their belt. One missing component of formal training institutes is actual field experience. Brady Infrared offers in-field training for electrical and roofing applications that will accelerate your in-field experience in a short time.
There are several published standards and guidelines for conducting infrared surveys (Infraspection Institute 2022 Guidelines). They are designed to establish consistency throughout the infrared industry and maximizing to the fullest, the benefits infrared technology has to offer. Your infrared service provider should be familiar with these documents and follow them when performing an infrared inspection.
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