FLIR Photon Manual Book page 20

Chapter 2
Figure 10. Visible light and IR images of a substation showing a transformer with excessive
temperature.
before an unplanned outage happens.
(See Figure 10.)
The cameras can be installed on a pan/
tilt mounting mechanism to continually
survey large areas of a substation (Figure
11). A few cameras can provide real-time
coverage of all the critical equipment
that should be monitored. In addition
to preventative maintenance functions,
these cameras also serve as security
monitors for intrusion detection around
the clock.
By combining the cameras' Ethernet
and/or wireless connectivity with a
web-enabled operator interface, live
images can be transmitted to utility
control rooms miles away. In addition,
trending software can be used to detect
dangerous temperature excursions and
notify maintenance personnel via email
and snapshot images of the affected
equipment.
These features and functions are already
in place at leading utility companies in
the U.S., such as Exel Energy's "Substation
of the Future." Companies such as
14
Exel consider IR monitoring a strategic
investment in automation, which is
part of a common SCADA (Supervisory
Control And Data Acquisition) platform
for maintenance and security operations.
The most advanced systems provide
time-stamped 3-D thermal modeling
of critical equipment and areas, plus
temperature trending and analysis. A
company-wide system of alerts provides
alarms on high, low, differential, and
ambient temperatures within or between
zones in real time.
The previous examples represent just a
few applications that can benefit from
remote IR camera monitoring. A few
other applications where IR temperature
monitoring is being used include:
• Oil and gas industries (exploration
rigs, refineries, flare gas flues, natural
gas processing, pipelines, and storage
facilities)
• Electric utilities (power generation
plants, distribution lines, substations,
and transformers)