Electrical infrared inspections in Canada: what they find, how often, and what they cost

01What an electrical infrared inspection is

An electrical infrared inspection uses a thermal camera to find electrical connections and components that are running hotter than they should, while the equipment is energized and doing its normal work.

Loose, corroded, overloaded or unbalanced connections all make heat before they fail. A thermographer scans panels, switchgear, motor control centres, disconnects, transformers and bus under load, measures the temperature of anything abnormal, compares it with similar components, and grades how urgent it is. Nothing is touched and nothing is shut down for the scan itself.

It is the most common electrical maintenance task insurers ask for, and one of the cheapest ways to find a failure before it becomes an outage or a fire. See our electrical infrared inspections for how we run one.

02What it finds

Every image below comes from one of our own inspections, with the client details removed. Each one shows the same pattern: one point that is much hotter than the identical components beside it.

• Loose or corroded terminations on lugs, bus joints and breaker connections
• Worn contacts in contactors, starters and switches
• Weak fuse clips and poorly seated fuses
• Overloaded or unbalanced circuits, where one phase carries more than the others
• Failing breakers with internal contact problems
• Transformer connection faults and blocked ventilation

03How often to inspect

NFPA 70B, the North American standard for electrical equipment maintenance, became a standard rather than a recommended practice in its 2023 edition. It sets a maximum of 12 months between infrared surveys of electrical equipment, and 6 months for equipment in poor condition. In Canada, CSA Z463 provides the framework for an electrical maintenance program that a yearly scan fits into.

In practice:

• Every year suits most commercial and light-industrial sites, and matches the yearly scan many insurers ask for.
• Every six months for heavy or continuous loads, critical equipment, poor-condition gear or a history of findings.
• After repairs, to confirm the fix worked.

Scanning the same labelled equipment on a schedule is what makes the program useful: a connection that is a few degrees warmer every year is scheduled for repair before it fails, not after.

04What it costs, and why

There is no single price, because the work is set by what is on site. A quote is built from:

• The amount of equipment: the number of panels, switchboards, MCCs, transformers and disconnects.
• Sites and travel: several buildings planned as one route cost less per building than separate visits.
• Access: who opens enclosures, escorts, permits, orientation and after-hours work.
• Reporting: an insurer certificate, an equipment inventory or year-over-year trending.

A recurring program usually lowers the cost per scan, and Aviva customers save 10% on infrared scans. Send an equipment count or list and we reply with a quote within one business day. For the other side of the ledger, see the cost of a scan vs. the cost of a failure.

05Who should do the work

Anyone can point a thermal camera at a panel. Reading the image correctly is the job. Thermographer certification has three levels: Level I thermographers collect good images, Level II thermographers interpret them and grade findings, and Level III thermographers set up programs and procedures.

Look for a Level II thermographer who accounts for load, emissivity and reflections before grading a finding, and who understands the equipment being scanned. Our Level II thermographers are also journeyman electricians, so they also point out non-thermal electrical problems they see during the scan.

06How to prepare

• Site address, an access contact and any orientation, escort or permit rules
• An equipment list, or a rough count of panels, switchboards, MCCs, transformers and disconnects
• The hours when equipment carries its normal load, such as production shifts or peak occupancy
• Whether our electricians or yours will open enclosures under your site rules, and any that cannot be opened while energized
• Your insurer's request and deadline, if the scan is for insurance

07What the report should contain

The report is what you pay for. A useful one gives your electrician a repair list and your insurer a record:

• Thermal and visible photos of each finding, with the equipment identified
• A severity grade for each finding, with a recommended action and repair priority
• An inventory of what was scanned, plus anything that could not be inspected and why
• The load conditions at the time of the scan
• A certificate of inspection and year-over-year trending, where your scope includes them

We grade findings using NETA MTS Table 100.18 temperature guidance, weighed against how critical the equipment is to your operation. For similar components under similar load:

See a complete sample inspection report.

08What infrared cannot tell you

An infrared scan reads surface temperature, so it has limits, and a good report says what they were:

• Equipment it cannot see. The camera cannot see through closed covers, glass or barriers. Enclosures that cannot be opened safely are scanned through inspection windows where fitted, checked with ultrasound, or listed as not inspected.
• Faults that make no heat. A scan does not test breaker trip timing, insulation resistance, relay settings or grounding. Those need electrical testing, usually during a planned shutdown.
• Readings that need judgement. Light loads, shiny surfaces and reflections can hide or mimic a problem, which is why a Level II thermographer interprets the images.

09Questions