A connection running 58°F hot looks identical to a healthy one. Infrared is the only way to see the difference while it is still a repair and not a claim.
| Component / phase | 240V 60A breaker, line-side lug, phase A |
|---|---|
| Sp1 measured / Sp2 reference | 168.4°F / 110.1°F |
| Load at measurement | 41.2 A (68% of rated) |
| Emissivity / reflected temp | 0.95 / 71°F |
| Ambient / distance | 78°F / 3.0 ft |
Rise of 58°F over an identically loaded reference phase indicates a high-resistance connection. Torque check and inspect conductor for annealing. Load will not decrease.
Anyone can send you a photo of something orange. What survives an insurance file or a subrogation review is a measured document: a spot temperature, a reference spot on identical equipment under identical load, the delta between them, and the optical parameters used to arrive at both.
The sheet above is one finding. A typical commercial job produces five to twelve pages of them, plus a summary table, plus written confirmation of every panel that passed. Equipment found sound is documented too. A report that lists only problems tells you nothing about what was actually examined.
Sixteen pages, redacted from an actual Central Oregon inspection.
Rise is measured against a reference: a comparable component under comparable load, or the equipment's own baseline where one exists. Bands follow standard practice for energized electrical equipment.
Logged and trended. Re-examined next annual scan to see whether it is moving.
Correct within 90 days. Usually a lug that needs re-torquing at the next scheduled outage.
Correct within 30 days. Deterioration is established and continues under load.
Remove from service and repair immediately. You are told on site, before we leave.
Infrared only works under load, so nothing shuts down. A typical commercial scan is 90 minutes on site. Larger industrial facilities run two to four hours.
Your licensed electrician or qualified maintenance staff needs to be on site to remove and replace covers. We coordinate with them directly if that is easier. No electrician? We can refer a local contractor.
We never open or work inside energized equipment. That is licensed electrical work and it stays with your electrician. We image every breaker, connection and bus bar in arc-rated PPE and record load and optical conditions as we go.
Anything critical is reported verbally before we leave the building. Everything else arrives as a complete written document within 24 hours, formatted for both your electrician and your insurance file.
Connections loosen where equipment starts and stops repeatedly, where machinery vibrates, and where panels run near capacity for long stretches.
CNC, welding, conveyor, powder coat. Highest sustained load, highest anomaly rate of any sector.
Glycol chillers, fermentation controls, bottling drives, walk-in refrigeration.
Irrigation pumps, processing drives, refrigeration plant. Failure spoils product, not just uptime.
Paint booth panels, compressors, lift circuits, EV charging infrastructure.
Rooftop units, HVAC panels, house panels, generators. One visit can cover a portfolio.
Imaging supply, operatory panels, pharmacy and vaccine refrigeration circuits.
Kitchen loads, laundry, pool and spa equipment, multi-building distribution.
Array hotspot and bypass diode detection, combiners, inverters, PDUs and UPS.
Every fee includes the full written report within 24 hours. Most facilities scope over the phone in about two minutes, and you get an exact figure before anything is booked.
Same camera, same trip, no second mobilisation. Priced below the equivalent standalone survey because travel is already paid for.
Facilities outside the no-charge area are quoted with travel folded in, so the number you are given is the number you pay.
The 2023 edition converted NFPA 70B from a recommended practice into a standard. Within it, infrared inspection of electrical equipment at intervals not exceeding twelve months is mandatory, with a six-month interval for equipment in poorer condition. Scope covers industrial facilities, commercial and institutional buildings, and large multifamily complexes.
A consensus standard becomes an obligation when an authority having jurisdiction adopts it, an insurer requires it, or your own maintenance policy references it. Most Central Oregon facilities are not currently under a legal mandate. We are not going to tell you otherwise.
FM Global's electrical testing guidance recommends infrared scanning on a one-to-three year cycle. Carriers differ, and your broker is the right person to ask. What does not differ is what happens after a fire: the question becomes whether the equipment was maintained. A dated annual report with measured values is the only maintenance document that answers it.
| Camera | FLIR E8 Pro |
|---|---|
| Detector resolution | 320 × 240 (76,800 px) |
| Thermal sensitivity | < 0.04°C (40 mK) |
| Accuracy | ±2°C or ±2% of reading |
| Spectral range | 7.5–13 µm LWIR |
| Delta-T function | NFPA 70B compliant |
| Moisture verification | Calibrated pin and pinless meter |
| Energized equipment | Opened only by your licensed electrician |
|---|---|
| Standoff | Close-range walked survey. No aerial work. |
| Residential whole-house | Not offered |
| Insurance | GL and professional liability. COI on request. |
Oregon regulates whole-house inspection under ORS 701.350. AMP Thermal performs energy audits, forensic evaluations and home performance testing as defined in OAR 812-008-0020, which are separate from a certified home inspection. We do not perform home inspections and do not hold ourselves out as Oregon certified home inspectors.
[ YOUR NAME ] — ITC Level I certified infrared thermographer, certification number [ NUMBER ]. [ Two sentences: what you did before this, why you got certified. Facility managers are deciding whether to give a stranger access to their electrical room. ]
No rotating technicians, no subcontractors. The person who scans your building writes the report, signs it, and returns next year with last year's numbers. Trending only means something when it is the same eye and the same camera.
AMP Thermal carries general liability and professional liability coverage. A certificate of insurance is sent automatically to facilities that require one for vendor onboarding.
These communities are scheduled at the standard rate with no surcharge. Klamath Falls, Burns, The Dalles, Lakeview, Ontario and wider eastern Oregon are served on a scheduled basis, quoted with travel folded into the fee.
Sixteen pages, redacted from an actual inspection. Findings table, image pairs and the full conditions record intact.
Panel count, rough square footage, type of operation. That is enough for an exact figure. No site visit needed to quote.