While any electrical power cables will need checking occasionally for errors, cables designed to carry telecommunication data are often forgotten about until they stop functioning.
In both industrial and commercial settings, various types of cables are installed, making it challenging to identify which one has malfunctioned and where it's located. Thermal imaging plays a crucial role in helping cable repair specialists detect these faults.
Discover why our thermal imaging cameras are the preferred choice among professionals for identifying electrical cabling issues.
Why Do Structured Cabling Systems Need Inspecting?
Structured cabling systems relate to the hidden infrastructure we all take for granted in our workplaces, but they benefit from regular electrical thermographic surveys. They are the combinations of standard communications cabling (known as twisted pair) and optical cabling, patch panels and fibre optics. These are installed to connect standardised communication points and data ports to create a structured system consisting of six elements:
Entrance Facilities (EF): The point where the external telecommunications network connects with the internal cabling system of your building
Equipment Rooms (ER): Your centralised wiring consolidation points, such as server rooms.
Backbone Cabling (BC): Cabling to connect the other subsystems.
Horizontal Cabling (HC): Connections to individual workstations or outlets on each floor are often installed behind panels, making them difficult to inspect.
Telecommunications Rooms or Enclosures (TR/TE): The connection points between BC and HC.
Work Area (WA) Components: Includes all components for connecting end-user devices to the structured cabling system, such as outlets, connectors, and cables.
Together, these systems will create an unbroken flow of data for your business, but it all depends on the integrity of the cables and their connection points. Over time, these connection points can become worn and damaged, and if ignored, they will lead to a fault that generates downtime on that part of your system.
This is why regular structured cabling system maintenance reviews should be conducted to catch the points that need reinforcing early. However, this process is often ignored as it can be a labour-intensive process that is also invasive to your building panels as technicians need physical access. Fortunately, there is a better way to check these areas, which is with a thermal imaging camera.
What Can Thermal Imaging Cameras Reveal During Cable System Inspections?
Thermal imaging cameras are invaluable tools that provide insights that are not visible to the naked eye by detecting heat patterns and temperature variations thanks to the built-in thermal radiation detectors. This radiation data is overlaid on top of standard video footage with a dedicated thermal palette, which makes visualising the location of these hot spots easy for the operator.
The main information revealed by this type of camera is a change in consistency. With regular inspections, you see the standard heat emitted from electrical areas as they operate within acceptable parameters. This data can be compared with computer thermal imaging software with future inspections to reveal when components are operating either too hot, indicating a fault, or too cold, showing no current passing through and a non-functioning connection.
During inspections, thermal imaging cameras can reveal:
Overheating Components: Identifying cables, connectors, or equipment that are operating at higher temperatures than expected, which could indicate overloading, poor connections, or failing components.
Heat Dissipation Issues: Spotting areas where heat is not being properly dissipated, potentially indicating inadequate ventilation or cooling systems within equipment rooms or telecommunications rooms.
Electrical Faults: Detecting hotspots that could signify electrical faults, such as short circuits or loose connections, which could lead to failures or fire hazards if not addressed.
Energy Efficiency Problems: Highlighting inefficiencies in the cabling infrastructure, such as excessive heat loss in certain areas, which can impact the overall performance and energy consumption of the system.
Preventive Maintenance Needs: Provide early warning signs of wear and tear or impending failures, allow for proactive maintenance, and reduce the risk of unexpected downtime.
Insulation Defects: Identifying areas where cable insulation may be damaged or deteriorating, which can compromise the safety and functionality of the cabling system.
By revealing these critical issues, thermal imaging cameras help ensure the reliability, safety, and efficiency of structured cable systems, but they are also the most efficient method for acquiring this data. Alternate options such as thermal thermometers or hands-on connection testers take up significant time as each connection point needs manual checking, whereas FLIR thermal cameras provide millions of points simultaneously on a live video screen without the need to physically touch anything, perfect for commercial spaces where being non-invasive is prefered.
Industrial Cable Thermal Monitoring Supporting Repairs
The challenges faced by structured cabling systems in the commercial sectors are significantly smaller than the ones in the industrial sectors. Heavy industries like material handling, mining, and shipbuilding all rely on durable cabling systems for either a continuous power supply to inhospitable areas or telecommunication systems.
In either case, the results of a cable break are costly in terms of both lost productivity and the extended downtime needed to diagnose the problem. Cable replacement is possible, but they are not generally held in stock at these industrial locations and ordering a new one can take months.
Cable repair is the preferred solution for these large structured systems, but it requires significant manual labour to examine the enormous tangle of fibres in a cable. This is why facility infrastructure managers will invest in cable repair specialists with expertise in these cameras, which will significantly reduce the time required to find the source of the fault.
The same observational principles that were discussed earlier are also applicable, but they are the most effective at the ends of the cables, at the connection points. Our cameras will detect faults at these points where other diagnostic methods would fail due to the observational method of temperature detection.
Choosing a camera with a detector that can read a temperature range of -20 °C to +120 °C and has an accuracy level of +2% is recommended for reading these industrial cable systems with the highest data fidelity; fortunately, we have a great option to meet this requirement and more, the FLIR T1K.
FLIR T1020: Recommended for Structured Cabling Electrical Inspections
The FLIR T1020 camera (also known as the FLIR T1K) is an exceptional tool for structured cabling electrical inspections as it has a temperature range of -40°C to +2,000°C, significantly broader than the required range.
Its 1024x768 pixel uncooled infrared detector ensures superior image quality and is further enhanced by FLIR Vision Processing, UltraMax and FLIR’s patented MSX® image enhancement software to provide the clearest thermal images possible.
The T1K is equipped with FLIR’s OSX™ Precision HDIR optics, which also provide highly accurate temperature measurements from twice the distance compared to standard industry lenses. Additionally, the camera features a versatile focusing system with both continuous and manual focus options.
Professional Grade Hand-Held Thermal Imaging Cameras
At Thermascan, we maintain a large stock of the highest-quality imaging cameras on the market. We guarantee we have an effective camera for you, even if only for thermal camera hire, to meet your business’s specific needs and provide your teams with the data you need for your maintenance programs.
Contact us if you’re unsure of which model would best suit the needs of your structured cabling system inspections.