Integral UK, a provider of property maintenance services, has used thermal imaging technology to reduce facility chiller downtime.
Facility chillers commonly use refrigerant gas to provide cooling and therefore temperature control for large commercial properties. Integral UK used Flir thermal imaging cameras for maintenance of its chillers.
New developments in thermal imaging from Flir have enabled Integral to identify refrigerant gas leaks caused by wear or damage, which went undetected by other maintenance methods. The leaks were found quickly and efficiently using a Flir GF304 thermal imaging camera.
Traditional methods for refrigerant gas leak detection promote the use of sniffers. Unfortunately, because of the way many facility chillers are designed, accessibility is always a problem and on average maintenance engineers are only able to test around 60 per cent of the installation depending on the chiller design.
Gaining access to the chillers is easier using the GF304 camera. The visual output of the camera allows users to see any exit point of the gas, automatically supplying evidence-based reports on gas escapes that remain undetectable from any other source.
Integral has been able to use thermal imaging as a preventative maintenance tool to identify potential refrigerant gas escapes before they develop as well as finding refrigerant gas leaks and for building inspections. In this way, Integral has been able to improve the reliability of facility chillers and extend the life cycle of a critical building asset.
