Can thermography check the rising busbar or rising mains in a multi-storey office building?

Yes. The rising busbar or rising mains in a multi-storey office can be surveyed live, floor by floor, from the riser cupboards. The thermographer images each tap-off unit and joint cover along the run while the building is occupied and carrying its normal load, compares matching parts in °C, and reports where anything stands out.

What gets imaged in the riser

The tap-off unit or fused switch on each floor, and the cable leaving it
The casing over each joint along the run
The terminations where the rising main is fed from the main switchboard
The floor distribution boards it supplies, where they are in the survey scope

Every reading is tied to its floor, riser and the reference used on the building’s drawings, so the electrical contractor can go straight to it.

Closed casings: what the camera can and can’t see

A thermal camera measures the surface it is looking at. On a closed joint cover, the reading is the cover, not the joint inside, so the joint itself will be hotter than the figure we record. We say that in the report and treat those readings as conservative. A cover that reads warmer than the identical covers on the floors above and below is still worth a closer look.

Tap-off covers are only opened by the site’s authorised person under the building’s own safe system of work. Where a cover stays closed, the report says so.

Survey it when the building is busy

An office at 8pm or on a Sunday carries very little current, and a developing problem at a connection may not show. The best time is a normal working day, with lighting, small power and air conditioning running. Where a meter is available, we record the load at the time of each reading.

Traps we watch for

Riser cupboards often share space with heating pipes and other services, which warm nearby surfaces
Bare or shiny metal reflects heat from its surroundings, so readings are taken on painted or labelled areas, or the limitation is noted
Covers near the top of a riser can sit in warmer air than those lower down, so comparisons are made with neighbouring floors

What the report gives the FM team

For each finding: floor, riser and reference, a thermal and visual image, the measured temperature and where it was taken, the comparison and the difference in °C, and the load where known. Ti inspects and reports; the building’s electrical contractor investigates and carries out any work. Reports are usually issued the same or next working day.

Busbar joints are exactly where problems hide. 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 located and imaged for the contractor to check before handover.

Frequently asked questions

Does the building need a shutdown?

No. The survey is non-contact and needs the system live and loaded, so tenants carry on working.

How often should a rising main be surveyed?

Many FM teams include it in the annual electrical thermography survey, alongside the main switchboard that feeds it.

Does a thermographic survey replace the EICR?

No. It complements it. The EICR tests the installation; thermography shows how connections behave under real load.