Siemens Unveils New Thermal Monitoring Solution for Electrical Distribution Systems
December 11, 2020
Siemens recently released its SEM3T™ modular thermal monitoring solution that can identify a compromised joint or loose connection within low voltage electrical distribution systems. The solution helps avoid potential downtime resulting from arc flash / power outage incidents. Local and optional cloud-based thermal monitoring, real-time continuous data, immediate alarm alert notifications, historical logging/trending, and reporting of electrical equipment also help ensure predictive maintenance and electrical asset integrity.
Small isolated sensors installed in switchgear, switchboards, panel boards, and ATS systems used in industrial and commercial applications continuously monitor the thermal condition of critical joints in energized electrical equipment such as bus joints, lug landings, bus ducts, transformers, and circuit breakers. The SEM3T sensors measure actual temperature of the connection points.
By comparison, traditional infrared thermography (IR) scans cannot easily detect obscured connections. As such scans are typically scheduled on a regular basis, it lessens the likelihood of detecting a problem at the immediate outset and increases time and money spent to remedy it. IR scans also require manual inspection, whereas SEM3T system sensors do not require physical inspection or calibration. This enables permanent, non-invasive, 24/7 detection of hot spots at an early stage of development.
