System and method for remote inspection of equipment mechanical dial gauge readings, electrical termination and bushing condition monitoring

An electrical equipment service cabinet equipped with a monitoring system for remote inspection and monitoring, comprising:

• an electrical equipment service cabinet having a roof, a floor, and a deadfront wall supporting one or more mechanical dial gauges, electrical terminations and bushings;
• a digital camera, mounted within the electrical equipment service cabinet, that is capable of capturing images of the deadfront wall, the floor, or both, in low visible-light conditions of the electrical equipment service cabinet, wherein the digital camera images relevant parts of equipment on the deadfront wall, floor, or both, and wherein the images are adapted for identifying leakage in the form of at least one of vertical traces, expanding pools, and darkening of a concrete floor;
• and
• a monitoring computer system operatively connected to the camera and adapted for receiving, storing, and analyzing data inputs from the camera for purposes of raising alarms and providing an indication of potential failure conditions related to the identified leakage.

An electrical equipment service cabinet equipped with a monitoring system for remote inspection and monitoring, comprising:

• an electrical equipment service cabinet having a roof, a floor, and a deadfront wall supporting one or more mechanical dial gauges, electrical terminations and bushings;
• a digital camera, mounted within the electrical equipment service cabinet, that is capable of capturing images of the deadfront wall, the floor, or both, in low visible-light conditions of the electrical equipment service cabinet, wherein the digital camera images relevant parts of equipment on the deadfront wall, floor, or both, wherein each of the one or more mechanical dial gauges includes a dial displaying a value, and wherein the images include images of the value of each of the dials;
• and
• a monitoring computer system operatively connected to the camera and adapted for receiving, storing, and analyzing data inputs from the camera for purposes of determining the value of each of the one or more dials using user defined information about each respective gauge and an image processing algorithm.