Carl Brahe
A common defect I find in commercial buildings is over heated electrical devices, especially in older buildings. Overheating may come from an overloaded circuit, corrosion, loose connections, defective or worn out devices. Electrical fires are common and expensive in terms of actual damage and lost productivity, as well as endangering the health and lives of workers and customers.
Infrared imagery can identify problems areas without disrupting daily activities or shutting down power. Infrared imagery measures the surface temperature of many materials and can be used to identify problems before they escalate to lost productivity or disaster.
Breaker panels that are operating hotter than normal
This image came from a restaurant during lunch hour. The surface temperature of the breaker box was as high as 148° F. The temperature of the wiring and the breakers internally was higher. The two hottest breakers are white. You can see that the top, hot breaker has two wires attached to it. This is called double tapping and is a fire hazard as you can see. The breaker below is even hotter and has three wires attached where only one was meant to be. Enough heat is being generated that a fire could start at any time. The breakers at the bottom left are also overheating. 