Condition monitoring 路 Free
Infrared Thermography Training
A short, practical foundation in thermal imaging for plant work: what the camera actually measures and what it never sees, emissivity and reflected apparent temperature, loaded electrical surveys and three-phase comparison, motors and bearings and couplings, building envelope and lagging and moisture, solar PV hot cells and substrings, and the route survey and written finding that turn a pretty picture into a work order.
Inside the course
From the lessons
What a thermal camera actually measures
Online Infrared Training Center
Electrical and mechanical inspection
Online Infrared Training Center
Building envelope, insulation and moisture
Infrared Training Center
Solar PV inspection
Infrared Training Center
Route surveys, and where infrared stops
Infrared Training Center
Lesson frames belong to the creators named in the Credits below and are shown from YouTube.
What you will learn
Set emissivity and reflected apparent temperature before trusting any reading, and say why a bright busbar reads wrong; plan and run a loaded electrical survey and classify a hot joint by comparing it with the same connection on the other phases; read motor, bearing housing, coupling and belt drive patterns and know which need vibration or ultrasound to confirm; choose the conditions a building, lagging or moisture survey needs; inspect a PV array and trace hot cell, bypass diode substring and whole module patterns back to their causes; build a route survey with baselines and repeat intervals; and write a finding that carries load, ambient, the comparison used, a severity and a re-inspection date.
- Set emissivity and reflected apparent temperature, and recognise when a shiny surface has made a reading worthless
- Plan a loaded electrical survey, record load and ambient with every image, and work safely with an authorised electrician
- Classify a hot joint by comparing it with the same connection on the other two phases
- Read motor, bearing, coupling and belt drive patterns, and say which finding needs vibration or ultrasound to confirm
- Choose the time of day and temperature difference a building, lagging or PV survey needs before you leave the office
- Write a finding a plant manager can act on: image pair, conditions, comparison, severity, action and re-inspection date
For you
Taking Infrared Thermography Training from the United States
- Free in the United States, as everywhere, and self-paced: lessons, notes and the final assessment are open at any hour, so your time zone and shift pattern do not matter.
- The optional certificate for learners in the United States is a one-off US$23.99. What you get for it
- Plants across the Americas most often run Allen-Bradley, Siemens and Inductive Automation; each has its own free course to take next.
- See automation and engineering jobs in the United States, and what the industry looks like in Houston, Detroit and Chicago.
- EDWartens also has a regional site for the United States, for classroom training and local support: edwartens.com/us.
The course project 路 about 12 hours
Loaded infrared survey of a steel rolling mill: MCCs, transformers, busducts and bearings, classified by 螖T
Plan and execute a route survey of a TMT bar mill's electrical and mechanical assets under load: write the procedure that fixes load conditions, emissivity, reflected temperature, camera settings and arc-flash boundaries; build the inspection-point register; check the camera against a blackbody; survey with three-phase comparison and same-machine comparison; classify every finding by 螖T to the NETA and ISO 18434-1 bands; and turn the findings into a repair plan with re-inspection dates. You deliver your own procedure, register, report, calibration record and plan. The sample pack shows what a thermographer hands to the mill's electrical head.
Sample document pack, 6 documents, filled in for the scenario
- ProcedureProcedure: Infrared Thermographic Survey of Electrical and Mechanical Assets
- RegisterInspection-Point Register: Quarterly Thermographic Route
- ReportThermographic Survey Report: Baseline Survey of 08-Sep and 09-Sep-2026
- PlanRepair-Priority Plan from the September 2026 Survey
- Calibration recordCamera Verification Record: FLIR E76 and Fluke Ti32 Against the Fluke 9133 Reference
- Training recordTraining Record: Quarterly Thermographic Route
Read inside the course and download as a workbook. The project is optional practice, marked when you submit it; the certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
Course content
6 modules 路 10 lessons 路 2h 17m
In order, at whatever pace suits you. Each module ends with a practice task that builds on the last.
- 01What a thermal camera actually measures2 lessons19m
- 02Electrical and mechanical inspection4 lessons17m
- 03Building envelope, insulation and moisture1 lesson25m
- 04Solar PV inspection1 lesson31m
- 05Route surveys, and where infrared stops2 lessons45m
- 06Final assessment0 lessons0m
Requirements
- Who it is for
- Beginner. No prior thermography experience needed. Any electrical or mechanical maintenance background helps, and a thermal camera makes the practice tasks real but is not required.
- Software
- None required. Camera makers' free report software is discussed in the notes, not needed to finish the course.
- Hardware
- None. A thermal camera, or a clip-on thermal module for a phone, makes every practice task real; each task also has a version you can do with a notebook.
Software you need
Nothing to install
Camera makers' free report software is discussed in the notes, and is not needed to finish the course.
Infrared Thermography Training at a glance
Infrared Thermography Training is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for maintenance and reliability engineers and technicians. It has 6 modules and 2h 17m of video lessons by Infrared Training Center, Online Infrared Training Center, Pass Thermal and others, with written notes and worked problems, a practical project with a document pack and a 15-question final assessment (pass mark 60%). Learning is free with an account; an optional certificate with a public verification code is issued when you pass. Last updated 27 September 2026.
All course factsHide course facts
- Price
- Free, for good. No trial, no card. The only paid item is the optional certificate, a small one-off fee.
- Who it is for
- Maintenance and reliability engineers and technicians
- Format
- 6 self-paced modules, 2h 17m of video, written notes, a practice task per module and one final assessment.
- Level
- Beginner. Beginner. No prior thermography experience needed. Any electrical or mechanical maintenance background helps, and a thermal camera makes the practice tasks real but is not required.
- Brand
- Vendor-neutral
- Software
- None required. Camera makers' free report software is discussed in the notes, not needed to finish the course.
- Hardware
- None. A thermal camera, or a clip-on thermal module for a phone, makes every practice task real; each task also has a version you can do with a notebook.
- Certificate
- Optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code. Not a vendor credential.
- Video lessons by
- Infrared Training Center, Online Infrared Training Center, Pass Thermal, GTI Predictive (independent creators, credited below)
- Language
- English
- Last updated
- 27 September 2026
A shareable EDWartens certificate
Finish every module and pass the final assessment, and the optional EDWartens certificate is yours. It carries a unique verification code on a public page anyone can check, so it stands up when a recruiter looks it up. See it below.
The course itself stays free whether or not you ever buy one.
Stuck? Ask a practising engineer
A free course usually means a comment section and hope. This one does not. Every module has an Ask-your-trainer panel that reaches the same engineers who teach our paid programme: people who commission panels for a living, not moderators.
Pairs well with
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA PortalFrom zero electrical knowledge to a working, simulated S7-1200 program, for nothing.
PLC programming 路 FreeSiemens TIA Portal in Three HoursThe first three hours of the Siemens TIA Portal course, cut to end on a win: what a PLC is, how it is wired, a project configured in TIA Portal, and your first ladder program running in simulation. Finish it in an evening or two, earn a certificate, and carry straight on into the full course.
PLC programming 路 FreeTIA Portal: Build a MachineOne machine, start to finish. Take a bottle filling line from a written specification and an I/O list to a structured S7-1200 program with a fill station, a capper, a reject sorter and an operator screen with alarms, then test it against a written record and archive it for hand-over. The lessons are the reference; the machine is yours, and it is what you submit.
Instrumentation 路 FreeInstrumentation for PLC EngineersThe half of the loop that is not code. Follow one measurement from the transmitter in the field, down the 4-20 mA loop, into the analog card, through NORM_X and SCALE_X into engineering units, out again to a valve, and back to the control room when the reading is wrong.More free courses: Free electrical design and control panel courses 路 Free maintenance and reliability courses
Learner reviews
No reviews yet
Reviews here are written only by learners who have finished every module of Infrared Thermography Training, and they are published exactly as written. Finish the course and yours will be the first.
Common questions
Do I need a thermal camera?
No. The course teaches what to point a camera at, in what conditions, and how to judge what comes back, which is the part most camera owners are missing. Every practice task has a version you can do with a notebook and a plant walk. If you do have a camera, or a clip-on thermal module for your phone, use it.
What do I need before starting?
Nothing formal. It is written for electrical and mechanical maintenance staff, substation and MCC technicians, plant reliability engineers and solar site staff. If you can read a single line diagram or identify a bearing housing, you have enough.
Is this the same as a Level 1 thermographer certification?
No, and it must not be described as one. Level 1 thermographer courses from bodies such as the Infrared Training Center or courses built on ISO 18436-7 and ASNT SNT-TC-1A are paid, classroom based, and include a practical examination with a camera in your hands. This course is preparation and background reading for that. EDWartens is not affiliated with any of those bodies and issues no credential on their behalf.
Which standards does it follow?
Be aware that most published severity tables you will find online, including the delta-T criteria quoted everywhere, come from American practice such as NFPA and NETA. The notes say so plainly and teach the method that transfers: compare like with like under similar load, record the conditions, and set your own plant's action thresholds in writing rather than borrowing a table you cannot justify.
How long is the course?
Five content modules and a final, about two and a half hours of video lessons and roughly five hours in total with the practice tasks and practice questions. It is a short foundation course, not a full Level 1 syllabus, and it says so rather than padding itself out.
Is the Infrared Thermography Training course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate does the Infrared Thermography Training course give?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you have finished every module and passed the final at 60 percent, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Infrared Thermography Training course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
What you walk away with
Your certificate for Infrared Thermography Training
Finish the course, pass the final, and this is the document with your name on it.
Verifiable by anyone
Adds to LinkedIn in one click
QR code on the certificate
Names what you can do
A permanent link
Earned, not attended
Learning is free. The certificate is optional.
Add it now and pay only when you have finished the course, or come back for it later. One-off, US$23.99, with a receipt.
Issued by EDWartens, the training division of Wartens, as a Certificate of Completion for this self-paced course. Sold by Wartens Ltd (England and Wales). It is not a vendor certification, a university award or a CPD-accredited activity, and it does not certify competence on live equipment. Delivered electronically; see the refund policy.
Credits
Who made the video lessons
The video lessons in this course were created by the people below, not by EDWartens. Every lesson streams from its creator's own YouTube channel; EDWartens neither hosts nor sells that footage, and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens and do not endorse this course. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
- Infrared Training CenterThe Infrared Spectrum sessions on building thermography, PV inspection, shipboard route surveys and acoustic imaging
- Online Infrared Training Centerwhat thermal imaging is, the electrical inspection tutorials and the mechanical thermography walkthrough
- Pass Thermalinfrared thermography seen from the maintenance department rather than from a camera vendor
- GTI Predictivehow thermography sits alongside vibration analysis and balancing in one condition monitoring toolkit
If you are one of these creators and would like a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@wartens.com.