News > Infrared Camera Inspections

Infrared Camera Inspections

March 25, 2023

EVERY YEAR, STEARNS ELECTRIC FOCUSES ON THE PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE OF OUR DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM. MUCH OF THIS MAINTENANCE TAKES PLACE THROUGHOUT THE WINTER MONTHS, INCLUDING INFRARED CAMERA INSPECTIONS.

Infrared camera inspections are used to examine our underground power line system as well as our substations for potential issues not visible to the naked eye. Infrared inspection is the process of photographing the heat exchange of equipment. The result is a thermogram image which captures an object’s excessive heat rating and can clearly show issues or unsafe conditions that may otherwise have gone unnoticed until they caused an outage.

“Stearns Electric has several different infrared cameras that we use throughout our system,” Glenn Blommel, Manager of Operations, described. “The Co-op has been using this technology for about 25 years and it has played a big role in preventing outages.”

“The reasons why we do infrared camera inspections are really twofold. The Co-op is required to inspect a percentage of our line each year per the USDA’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS), but we also do it to find issues before they can cause an outage,” explained Crew Chief, Bob Barutt.

Blommel added, “We try to complete an inspection of our entire underground system every five years on an annual rotation. The infrared camera inspections are typically done in the winter because of the greater temperature difference. This makes potential issues easier to see on the camera. When there are issues, they are very evident.”

Our construction lineworker crews complete the infrared camera inspections on the underground power lines throughout our service territory. Each inspection can be completed in just a couple of minutes if there are no issues.

“We find issues every day we do the inspections, but many things can be fixed the same day. One of the biggest issues that we find are elbow lightning arresters that need to be changed out,” Barutt detailed. “Other things that our crews look for are rusty transformer cabinets, tipped boxes, fiberglass basement damage or bad paint. Some things cannot be addressed during the winter but can be added to the work plan for the spring or summer after the ground thaws.”

The line crews also update Stearns Electric or safety stickers on the transformer and add flagging whips as needed. The flags allow transformer boxes to be more visible to the public and make it easier for crews to locate the boxes if they get covered with snow.

However, this work can only be completed when the transformers are accessible. Plants, landscaping and other objects should always be at least 10 feet away from the front of the box and 5 feet from the back and sides of the box. Snow also should not be piled on top of or against them. Having obstructions to the transformers not only blocks our crews from completing this preventative maintenance, but also prohibits our lineworkers from accessing equipment quickly during a power outage.

Our substation crew also utilizes the infrared camera technology for substation inspections. All 33 of our substations are inspected annually along with any electrical distribution equipment in and around the substation.

Infrared camera inspections are an imperative part of our regular maintenance. By completing them over the years, our crews have been able to remedy minor fixes and larger concerns that could have caused major outages.