Can a new data hall be commissioned with thermography inside a live data centre?

Yes. A new data hall built inside a live data centre can have its busbar, tap-offs, PDUs and switchboards thermally imaged during the load bank test, as on a new build. The difference is the interface with the live site: its change control and permits apply, and the existing switchgear feeding the new hall is imaged live in the same visit.

What gets imaged in the new hall

Inside the new hall, commissioning thermography works the same way it does on a greenfield site. The thermographer images every connection while the load bank puts real current through it:

New LV switchboards and distribution boards for the hall
Busbar runs, joint covers and every tap-off unit
Floor PDUs and, where fitted, rack PDUs
UPS input and output connections for the new modules

The load bank test is the best chance to find installation defects in the new hall. Current is high and controlled, and no customer IT is running yet, so a poor joint can be found and dealt with by the installer before handover.

The part people forget: the existing side

A new hall is fed from somewhere. Usually that means new outgoing ways on existing switchboards, new cables or busbar from an existing switch room, and sometimes an extension to an existing UPS system. Those connections sit in the live site and carry the new hall’s test load on top of their normal load.

We image them live, during the same test window, with the site’s authorised electrician opening covers under the live site’s permit. If a new outgoing way is fitted to an older board, the existing connections on that board are worth imaging at the same time; they are about to carry more current than they have before.

Working inside a live site

The thermography itself changes nothing, but opening covers in a live switch room does. In practice that means:

A method statement through the live site’s change process, separate from the construction permit
Escort and access rules for the live areas, which are often stricter than on the build side
A test window agreed with both the construction team and the operations team

Load bank units put out a lot of heat. We position the survey so warm exhaust air isn’t mistaken for a hot connection, and compare matching parts under the same load.

What the report gives the operator

For each finding: equipment reference, a thermal and visual image, the measured temperature and exactly where it was taken, the difference in °C from a matching reference, and the test load at the time. After the installer’s work, re-images close each item out. The full record becomes the new hall’s baseline for its first annual survey.

On one London data centre build, our commissioning thermography recorded 16 busbar sections reading above 80 °C under test load, the highest 103.5 °C at a tap-off unit. Finding those before handover is the point of imaging under load. Ti inspects and reports; the installer investigates and carries out any work.

Frequently asked questions

When in the programme should the new hall be imaged?

During the load bank test, when the hall’s power chain carries test load. Plan the thermographer into the test schedule rather than after it.

Can the existing switchboard feeding the hall be imaged at the same time?

Yes. It is surveyed live under the site’s permit while the new hall’s test load is running through it.

Does the new hall need a separate annual survey?

It can join the site’s annual survey once live. The commissioning images give the first survey something to compare against.