Your electric power system puts up with a lot of stress. If you’ve had the same system in your building for a while, then it’s important for you to routinely examine it and maintain it as necessary. Otherwise, you could end up having to replace part or all of the system, which is not only a huge expense, but is also a time-consuming project that can seriously inconvenience you until it’s all finished. A big part of your maintenance should involve your switching equipment, especially your switchgear auxiliary contacts.
Perform Inspections
Since you’re dealing with complex electrical systems and may not have the equipment or expertise to do it yourself, you may want to hire contact switchgear services to perform regular inspections. Whether you do it yourself or hire someone, this inspection should not only include a cursory visual inspection but also a more in-depth infrared inspection. This helps you find you find the loose connections that could cause problems later. When you perform these inspections, you may have to recondition old parts or even replace parts on occasion if they’re too damaged to use anymore. This may seem like a waste of money, but investing a little now can save you money later, since one damaged part can cause a series of problems throughout the system if left untreated.
Keep It Clean
As with most things, switchgear contacts perform best when clean. This means you should remove dirt, dust, and any other contaminants that might build up in the system. The contacts are exposed to a lot of moisture and heat as well as microscopic debris, so you should clean the contacts as necessary and protect them from further contamination as much as possible.
Exercise Your Breakers
One way to help keep your contacts clean is to exercise your breakers. Professional contact switchgear services can help you with this part, in case you’re worried about messing around with your system and potentially damaging something. Essentially, they will open the circuit breakers manually to keep everything moving freely and prevent any corrosive buildup that might interfere with the system. Ideally, this should be done once a year.
