Infrared Training Center

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Emissivity of a Bees’ Nest?

Level III student Gabe Peer of Travis Electric Company in Nashville, TN recently sent his instructor, Ron Lucier, a set of images he took of a disconnect on a roof unit.  It turns out disconnects on 10 of the 11 units present on this particular roof contained some kind of nest!

Which begs the question…any guesses on what emissivity to use if your fuses are covered with a wasps’ nest? Does it even matter?  All joking aside, I know that a number of thermographers out there have had similar, less-than-pleasant, encounters with wildlife while in the field.  As if dealing with PPE isn’t enough to worry about, from insects, to rodents to reptiles there’s always the potential for a nice surprise to jump out at us from under an electrical cover.

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So, for our readers, curious what you have encountered? Anything that you would like to share? Please feel free to comment below or send in your best story with images and/or video and we’ll post it too.