What thermography evidence should go in a data centre commissioning handover pack?

A data centre commissioning handover pack should hold a thermal and visual image of every busbar section, tap-off, PDU and switchboard connection imaged under test load, with the load and ambient temperature recorded, the location and measured temperature of every anomaly, and the re-images taken after the installer’s work. That record becomes the baseline for every annual survey.

Why thermal evidence belongs in the handover pack

Commissioning is the last time the installer is on site and the first time the busbar, tap-offs and PDUs carry real current. Anything not right from installation shows up then, and it is far easier to deal with before handover than in a live hall. If the thermography sits in an email thread instead of the handover pack, the operations team inherits the equipment without the one record that shows how it ran on day one.

What each record should show

The equipment reference as it appears on the drawings and labels: busbar run and section, tap-off unit, PDU or panel
A thermal image and a matching visual image
The measured temperature and exactly where on the component it was taken
The load at the time, as test load or measured current where it is available, plus the ambient temperature
Date, time and the thermographer who took it

Without the load and the measurement point, a temperature on its own tells the next reader very little.

How anomalies should be reported

Each anomaly needs its location, its measured temperature and a comparison with matching components on the same run under the same test, given as a difference in °C. The report says what was measured. Investigating the cause and putting it right is for the installer or M&E contractor, and that keeps the evidence independent.

On one London data centre build this autumn, our commissioning thermography recorded 16 busbar sections reading above 80 °C under test load, the highest 103.5 °C at a tap-off unit. Each one went into the report with its location and a thermal and visual image before handover, for the contractor to check.

Close the loop with re-images

Where the installer has worked on a connection, it should be re-imaged at the same point under comparable load and the new image filed next to the original. The pack then shows the finding and its close-out together, and nobody has to rely on a note saying “checked”.

Make it useful for the next ten years

Use the same equipment references the operations team will use. The first annual survey under real operating load can then be compared joint by joint with the commissioning record, and every survey after that builds on it.

Frequently asked questions

Does the commissioning thermography count as the first annual survey?

No. Test load is not operating load, so the first survey once the halls are live is the true comparison point for the years that follow.

Who should commission the thermography: the installer or the client?

Either can, but many clients prefer the thermographer to be independent of the installer so the evidence stands on its own.

How quickly is the report available?

Ti’s reports are usually issued the same or next working day, so findings reach the contractor while the commissioning team is still on site.