5/1/2017 InsulationResistanceTestOpenElectrical

InsulationResistanceTest
FromOpenElectrical

Theinsulationresistance(IR)test(alsocommonlyknownasaMegger)isaspotinsulationtestwhichusesan
appliedDCvoltage(typicallyeither250Vdc,500Vdcor1,000Vdcforlowvoltageequipment<600Vand
2,500Vdcand5,000Vdcforhighvoltageequipment)tomeasureinsulationresistanceineitherk,MorG.
Themeasuredresistanceisintendedtoindicatetheconditionoftheinsulationordieletricbetweentwoconductive
parts,wherethehighertheresistance,thebettertheconditionoftheinsulation.Ideally,theinsulationresistance
wouldbeinfinite,butasnoinsulatorsareperfect,leakagecurrentsthroughthedielectricwillensurethatafinite
(thoughhigh)resistancevalueismeasured.

BecauseIRtestersareportable,theIRtestisoftenusedinthefieldasthefinalcheckofequipmentinsulationand
alsotoconfirmthereliabilityofthecircuitandthattherearenoleakagecurrentsfromunintendedfaultsinthe
wiring(e.g.ashortedconnectionwouldbeobviousfromthetestresults).

OneoftheadvantagesoftheIRtestisitsnondestructivenature.DCvoltagesdonotcauseharmfuland/or
cumulativeeffectsoninsulationmaterialsandprovidedthevoltageisbelowthebreakdownvoltageofthe
insulation,doesnotdeterioratetheinsulation.IRtestvoltagesareallwellwithinthesafetestvoltageformost(if
notall)insulationmaterials.

Contents
1 TestEquipment
2 TestProcedure
3 InterpretationofTestResults
4 FactorsAffectingTestResults
4.1 Temperature
4.2 Humidity
5 RelatedTests
6 References

TestEquipment
TheMeggercompany(http://www.megger.com/)weretheoriginal
manufacturersofIRtestequipmentover100yearsagoandhavebecome
synonymouswithinsulationresistancetesting.MostmodernIRtestersare
digital,portable/handheldunitsandsomehavemultifunctionalcapabilities
(e.g.builtincontinuitytesting).

TestProcedure
Firstlyensurethattheequipmenttobetestedandtheworkareaissafe,e.g.
equipmentisdeenergisedanddisconnected,alltherelevantworkpermits IRtestset(courtesyofMegger(ht
havebeenapprovedandalllocks/tagsinplace. tp://www.megger.com/))

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Next,dischargecapacitancesontheequipment(especiallyforHVequipment)withstaticdischargesticksoranIR
testerwithautomaticdischargingcapabilities.

TheleadsontheIRtestercanthenbeconnectedtotheconductivepartsoftheequipment.Forexample,forathree
coreandearthcable,theIRtestwouldbeappliedbetweencores(Core1toCore2,Core1toCore3andCore2to
Core3)andbetweeneachcoreandearth.Similarlyforthreephasemotors,circuitbreakrs,switchdisconnectors,
etctheIRtestcanbeappliedattheequipmentterminals(andearthconnection).

NotethatwhenapplyinganIRtesttoearth,itisgoodpracticetoconnectthepositivepoleoftheIRtestertoearth
inordertoavoidanypolarisationeffectsontheearth.

Onceconnected,theIRtesterisenergisedforatypicaltestdurationof1minute.TheIRtestmeasurementsare
recordedafter1minute.

WhentheIRtestisfinished,dischargecapacitancesagainforaperiodof45timesthetestduration.

InterpretationofTestResults
TheminimumvaluesforIRtestsvarydependingonthetypeofequipmentandthenominalvoltage.Theyalso
varyaccordingtointernationalstandards.SomestandardswilldefinetheminimumIRtestvaluesforthegeneral
electricalinstallations.

Forexample,forlowvoltageinstallationsintheIECworld,IEC603646[1]Table6AgivestheminimumIR
valuesandalsosuggeststestvoltage,i.e.

Insulation
NominalCircuit TestVoltage
Resistance(M
Voltage(Vac) (Vdc)
)

Extralowvoltage 250 0.5

Upto500V 500 1.0
Above500V 1,000 1.0

IntheANSI/NECworld,thestandardANSI/NETAATS2009[2]providestestproceduresandacceptancelevels
formosttypesofelectricalequipment.Table100.1providesrepresentativeacceptancevaluesforIRtest
measurements,whichshouldbeusedintheabsenceofanyotherguidance(fromthemanufacturerorother
standards):

Min
NominalEquipment MinTest Insulation
Voltage(Vac) Voltage(Vdc) Resistance(M
)

250 500 25
600 1,000 100
1,000 1,000 100
2,500 1,000 500
5,000 2,500 1,000

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8,000 2,500 2,000

15,000 2,500 5,000
25,000 5,000 20,000
34,500andabove 15,000 100,000

NFPA70B[3]alsoprovidessomeguidanceoninsulationresistancetestingfordifferenttypesofequipment.

FactorsAffectingTestResults
TherearetwomainfactorsthatwillaffectIRtestresults:

Temperature

Electricalresistancehasaninverseexponentialrelationshipwithtemperature,i.e.astemperatureincreases,
resistancewilldecreaseandviceversa.SincetheminimumacceptableIRtestvaluesarebasedonafixedreference
temperature(usually20oC),themeasuredIRtestvaluesmustbecorrectedtothereferencetemperatureinorderto
makesenseofthem.

Asaruleofthumb,theresistancehalvesforevery10oCincreaseintemperature(andviceversa).Soifthe
measuredIRtestvaluewas2Mat20oC,thenitwouldbe1Mat30oCor4Mat10oC.

ANSI/NETAATS2009Table100.14providescorrectionfactorsforIRtestmeasurementstakenattemperatures
otherthan20oCor40oC,whichwereinturnbasedonthecorrectionfactorsinthefreelyavailableMeggerbook
"Astitchintime..."[4].

Humidity

Thepresence(orlack)ofmoisturecanalsoaffecttheIRtestmeasurements,thehigherthemoisturecontentinthe
air,thelowertheIRtestreading.Ifpossible,IRtestsshouldnotbecarriedoutinveryhumidatmospheres(below
thedewpoint).Whiletherearenostandardcorrectionfactorsorguidanceforhumidconditions,itisgoodpractice
torecordtherelativehumidityofeachIRtestsothattheycanbeusedforbaselinecomparisonsinfuturetests.For
example,havingpastdataontheIRtestvaluesfordryandhumiddayswillgiveyouafoundationforevaluating
futuretestvalues.

RelatedTests
Forequipmentmaintenance,theDielectricAbsorptionTestisnormallyperformedinconjunctionwiththeIRtest
usingthesametestingequipment.TheresultsareeitherintheformofaDielectricAbsorptionRatio(DAR)ora
PolarisationIndex(PI).RefertotheDielectricAbsorptionTestarticleformoredetails.

References
1.IEC603646,"LowvoltageelectricalinstallationsPart6:Verification(https://webstore.iec.ch/pub
lication/1887)",2006
2.ANSI/NETAATS,"StandardforAcceptanceTestingSpecificationsforElectricalPowerEquipment
andSystems(http://www.netaworld.org/standards/ansinetaats)",2013

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3.NFPA70B,"RecommendedPracticeforElectricalEquipmentMaintenance(http://www.nfpa.org/c
odesandstandards/documentinformationpages?mode=code&code=70b)",2013
4.Megger,"AstitchintimeTheCompleteGuidetoElectricalInsulationTesting"(http://www.biddle
megger.com/biddle/Stitchnew.pdf),afreebookwhichisanexcellentresourceonIRtesting

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Category: ElectricalTesting

Thispagewaslastmodifiedon18February2017,at03:56.

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