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Your trusted partner in electrical thermographic imaging inspections. Sunshine Coast to Brisbane & surrounds.
Electrical equipment heats up before it fails. A radiometric switchboard inspection finds the connection that is running hot while the plant keeps operating — and hands your electrician a report that says exactly which terminal to open, how urgent it is, and why.
Electrical asset protection is our focus.
Highpoint Solutions is an independent specialist thermography company providing electrical thermography services throughout all major cities in Australia. With offices on the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane, we regularly service rural and remote areas throughout Queensland.
Thermal imaging (infrared thermography) is an extremely effective and very unique inspection method as it's non-destructive and non-intrusive, meaning inspections can be conducted while plant and equipment is fully operational. When you invest in our 100% independent services, you'll receive highly accurate and reliable data which forms the basis of our comprehensive reports.
Thermal imaging helps detect, troubleshoot and fix problems to prevent costly shutdowns and outages.
Electrical equipment tends to heat up before it fails, hiding from sight until a problem becomes "self-evident". Our high-end radiometric cameras make those hot spots clearly visible so you can catch them in time to investigate further, plan repairs, and get components fixed before they turn critical. We scan electrical cabinets, breaker panels, fuses, bolted connections and switchgear to get an instant picture of impending trouble that you would likely miss using traditional inspection methods.
We recommend thermal scanning of electrical switchboards be carried out as part of the annual routine maintenance program, together with a switchboard inspection, giving you an accurate picture of the condition of your switchboard.
What we inspect
- Main switchboards & distribution boards
- Motor control centres & VSDs
- Circuit breakers, fuses & isolators
- Bolted busbar & cable connections
- Contactors, overloads & relays
- Transformers & HV switchgear
- Capacitor banks & power factor correction
- UPS, battery & solar inverter systems
- Cable trays, terminations & joints
- Generators, motors & drives
What a finding looks like
Two real findings from switchboards we inspect every week. Drag the handle — to the eye every component looks identical; the radiometric image shows which one is failing and by how much.
Motor contactor and overload relay: one connection 37.8 °C hotter than the identical phase beside it — a loose or degraded termination on its way to an open circuit or a fire.
300 A moulded-case circuit breaker, load-side lugs: C-phase running 19 °C above A-phase under the same load. Classified as a major discrepancy and scheduled for repair before the next outage.
How we add value to your business through effective risk management
We use state-of-the-art infrared imaging equipment to identify electrical and mechanical faults fast, allowing you to take corrective actions to minimise damage to plant and equipment and decrease repair costs. We'll find the missing pieces of the puzzle and give them back to you.
Saving time — no down-time required
Our non-destructive, non-intrusive inspection methods allow your daily operations to continue unaffected by our work. Boards must be live and carrying load; nothing is switched off.
Faults highlighted immediately, report within 24 hours
Any existing fault or concern is flagged to your site contact on the day. The comprehensive report — image pairs, measured values, classification and recommended action — is delivered within 24 hours of the inspection.
Trends that predict failure
Periodic monitoring establishes trends used to predict equipment failure. Your preventative maintenance team can carry out upgrades in a planned window, rather than an unplanned outage costing revenue and production.
Evidence for your insurer
Many underwriters now mandate electrical thermographic inspections for policy renewal. Our report is written to be handed straight to them.
How much does an annual thermographic inspection of your electrical switchboards cost?
One of the most frequently asked questions from facility and building managers is "How much does it cost?", so let's look at that first. Most small commercial buildings — a main switchboard and a handful of distribution boards — can be inspected and reported for well under $1,000, which is a very small investment when you consider the potential outcomes. One small electrical fire can easily result in tens of thousands of dollars in repair bills and lost revenue, not to mention the impact on your employees, customers or guests. An unplanned outage in a busy processing facility has enormous flow-on effects; loss of essential services in a luxury holiday apartment block means bitter guests and negative reviews.
We understand that not all businesses operate the same and that maintenance budgets can be tight, so we've established two report options to make this service affordable for all building and asset managers. Both deliver great value, show your commitment to ongoing safety in the workplace, and demonstrate to your insurance company that you have risk-mitigation strategies in place.
Thermographic electrical inspection — full comprehensive report
A complete thermographic inspection of your electrical switchboards, supplied with a full comprehensive report of all switchboards and components inspected — whether thermal anomalies were identified or not. Ideal for facility managers who take a pro-active approach: every asset has a baseline, and data from every inspection can be compared with the next to identify alarming trends.
Thermographic electrical inspection — Lite
For facility managers on a tight maintenance budget, with typical savings of up to 25% compared to the full report. The Lite option still includes a full thermographic inspection of every board; only components that presented abnormal thermal anomalies are documented. If none are identified, a selection of thermal images is included for baseline information.
How often should a switchboard be thermally inspected?
Thermal imaging of all your building's switchboards should be carried out every 12 months, and more frequently where environmental conditions are influential — high load, heat, dust, vibration or coastal exposure. Many insurance underwriters now mandate electrical thermographic inspections for policy renewals, and thermography is a mandatory component of a building's preventative maintenance program. We conduct low-voltage power surveys in production plants, office facilities, hospitals, airports, hotels and domestic residences.
Severity criteria we classify against
Every anomaly is compared to its reference phase and to ambient, then placed in a severity band with a defined repair timeframe. This is the part that turns an image into a decision.
| ΔT vs similar component | ΔT vs ambient | Classification | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 – 3 °C | 1 – 10 °C | Possible deficiency | Investigate at next scheduled maintenance |
| 4 – 15 °C | 11 – 20 °C | Probable deficiency | Repair as time permits |
| — | 21 – 40 °C | Deficiency | Monitor until corrective measures can be taken |
| > 15 °C | > 40 °C | Major discrepancy | Repair immediately |
NETA Maintenance Testing Specifications, Table 100.18. Load at the time of inspection is recorded with every reading, because a lightly loaded fault under-reads.
Highly accurate & reliable data, packaged into an easy-to-digest report
On completion of the scan we produce a detailed report within 24 hours. Every finding is presented as a visual and thermal image pair with the measured values, the reference it was compared against, its classification, the likely cause and the recommended action — plus the boards found compliant, so your register is complete. Repeat inspections are trended against the last.
- ISO 18436-7 Category 2 certified thermographer
- Radiometric FLIR cameras — per-pixel temperature
- Emissivity, reflected temperature, load and ambient recorded per image
- Findings classified to NETA severity bands
- Asset register with every board, compliant or not
- Nationwide service — on site within 48 hours at most locations
From the knowledge base
What ΔT is considered a critical electrical fault?
The NETA bands explained, and why a 4 °C rise on a lightly loaded board can matter more than 20 °C on a heavily loaded one.
ComplianceDoes my insurer require an annual thermographic switchboard inspection?
What Australian underwriters are actually asking for at renewal, and what the report needs to contain to satisfy them.
Thermography basicsWhy does emissivity matter — and why can shiny copper read 30 °C low?
The single biggest source of error in electrical thermography and how a qualified thermographer corrects for it.
Common questions
Does the power need to be off?
No — the opposite. The board must be live and carrying at least 40% of normal load, because a fault only generates heat when current is flowing through it.
Can you see through the switchboard door?
No. Infrared does not pass through steel or glass. Covers come off under a safe work method, or IR inspection windows can be fitted so future surveys are quicker and safer.
Do I need an electrician on site?
For most commercial boards, yes — covers are removed and refitted by a licensed electrician under SWMS while our thermographer images the live components. We can arrange one or work with yours.
Who is qualified to classify a finding?
A Category 2 thermographer certified to ISO 18436-7 or equivalent. A Category 1 holder can capture images; setting and applying severity criteria is a Category 2 function.
How long does it take?
A typical small commercial site — main switchboard plus three or four distribution boards — takes one to two hours on site. The report follows within 24 hours.
Local service pages
Electrical thermal imaging — Sunshine Coast
Body corporates, resorts, shopping centres and light industrial from Caloundra to Noosa. Local case studies and suburbs served. URL unchanged
Electrical thermal imaging — Brisbane
Commercial towers, hospitals, hotels, data and processing facilities across greater Brisbane. Local case studies and suburbs served. URL unchanged
5 Crucial Things You Must Consider Before Hiring an Electrical Thermographer
Written by Justin Dravsnik for the facility managers, building managers and maintenance planners who have been asked to arrange a thermographic inspection and are not sure what to ask for — or how to tell one quote apart from another.
Tell us where to send it and we will email you a copy.