Environmental Radiation for Infrared Thermometers
When conducting infrared inspection on outdoor power equipment, the infrared radiation received by the measuring instrument includes not only the self-emitted radiation from the tested parts of the equipment, but also reflections from other equipment components and the background, as well as direct solar radiation. Such radiation interferes with the temperature measurement of target areas and causes errors in fault detection.
To mitigate the impacts of ambient and background radiation, the following measures should be adopted. For on‑site infrared inspection of outdoor electrical equipment, measurements should preferably be carried out on cloudy days or during dusk after sunset with no direct sunlight. This avoids interference from direct, reflected and scattered solar radiation. For indoor equipment, turn off lighting fixtures and keep away from other heat radiation sources.
For highly reflective equipment surfaces, appropriate measures shall be taken to reduce radiation interference from sunlight and surrounding high‑temperature objects. Alternatively, adjust the inspection angle to avoid reflected radiation and achieve optimal measuring conditions.
To suppress the influence of solar radiation and high‑temperature background radiation, physical shielding may be applied during measurement, or dedicated infrared filters may be installed on thermal imagers to block solar and other background radiant signals.
Select instruments with suitable parameters and an appropriate measuring distance to ensure the target area fully fills the instrument's field of view, thereby minimizing background radiation interference.
