Welcome Visitor | Login | Register | F.A.Q.

| Registered 29231 members

Search EEP...

GO!

Custom Search EEP Home

Welcome !
Hi and welcome to EEP ! For better and easier navigation through the site you can use portal's Sitemap

Advertisement
Reach clients related to electrical engineering, industry and automation all across the world.More information Download Center

Explore electrical software and tools

There are three main sections which covers design software, HVAC software and design documentation. Electrical Software Photometric, MV/LV network analysis, voltage drop and short circuit calc...Explore section HVAC Software This section covers simplified HVAC software in form of MS Excel spreadsheet.Explore section El. Design Docs LV and MV switchgear front views, single line and wiring diagrams, project plans...Explore section ePlusMenuCAD Professional electrical design tool within AutoCAD. Has 1200+ electrical symbols.Read more

Electrical MS Excel Spreadsheets

Electrical calculations (MS Excel Spreadsheets) - This tools will help you to calculate busbar size, voltage drop, power load and energy consumption of panelboard, insulation resistance and many more.Explore spreadsheets All electrical software and tools are FREE to download, and most of them is freeware. If you have developed similar tool or application for electrical calculations, you can share it with our 20K+ users and visitors.

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

visitors. Books

Learning Engineering Center

El. Engineering ENERGY AND POWER Schneider Electric CAHIER TECHNIQUES Siemens BASICS OF ENERGY ABB Drives TECHNICAL GUIDES Power Substations TRANSFORMER, PLANT Automation AUTOMATION, CONTROL HVAC HVAC DESIGN Danfoss THE HEATING BOOK Renewable energy SOLAR, WIND, HYDRO

Online Calculators
Online Electrical Calculators for basic and advanced calculation of single phase, three phase electric current, power, voltage, voltage drop as well as energy consumption...Visit calculators Technical Articles

Power and Energy!

Technical articles are sorted in 30+ categories and most popular of them are shown below. Technical Articles - Main Page | All Categories Power Engineering Energy and Power High Voltage Medium Voltage Low Voltage Power Substation Electrical Design Protection (relays) Transformers Cables Lighting Transmission
electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test 2/12

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

Industry | Automation Motor Variable speed drives Maintenance Automation HVAC applications Renewable energy Renewable Energy Solar Power Wind Power Hydro power Environment Resources

Knowledge
Submit your research (project) and share with other readers. Learn about theories and advancing to Ohm's Law, magnetism, machines, AC and DC motors, inspection, maintenance, etc. Video Lectures | PLC Training | Researches, Projects | Theorems

Power Directory
Free submit your site to EEP Directory and make your company's business visible to electrical engineers all across the world. Power Directory | Free submit site Contact

Write for EEP

Would you like to become a EEP author? Write for us and promote yourself to 20K+ EEP's members and 52K+ unique monthly visitors, mostly electrical engineers. Active EEP's writers | Become Contributor More Of Us...

Let's connect!
RSS Feed Download Updates LinkedIn Group Twitter Google+
electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test 3/12

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

Facebook Technical Articles Home / Technical Articles / Megger Insulation Resistance Test

Megger Insulation Resistance Test

Posted Mar 13 2012 by Edvard in Energy and Power, Metering with 3 Comments
Translate

Create PDF

Trend Micro InterScan Web Security Event

Remember that good insulation has high resistance; poor insulation, relatively low resistance. The actual
electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test 4/12

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

resistance values can be higher or lower, depending upon such factors as the temperature or moisture content of the insulation (resistance decreases in temperature or moisture).

As you know good insulation has high resistance; poor insulation, relatively low resistance. The actual resistance values can be higher or lower, depending upon such factors as the temperature or moisture content of the insulation (resistance decreases in temperature or moisture). With a little record-keeping and common sense, however, you can get a good picture of the insulation condition from values that are only relative. The Megger insulation tester is a small, portable instrument that gives you a direct reading of insulation resistance in ohms or megohms. For good insulation, the resistance usually reads in the megohm range. The Megger insulation tester is essentially a high-range resistance meter (ohmmeter) with a built-in directcurrent generator. This meter is of special construction with both current and voltage coils, enabling true ohms to be read directly, independent of the actual voltage applied. This method is non-destructive; that is, it does not cause deterioration of the insulation.

Figure 2 - Typical Megger test instrument hook-up to measure insulation resistance.

The generator can be hand-cranked or line-operated to develop a high DC voltage which causes a small current through and over surfaces of the insulation being tested (Fig. 2). This current (usually at an applied voltage of 500 volts or more) is measured by the ohmmeter, which has an indicating scale. Fig. 3 shows a typical scale, which reads increasing resistance values from left up to infinity, or a resistance too high to be measured.

What is Good Insulation?

Every electric wire in your plant whether its in a motor, generator, cable, switch, transformer, etc. is carefully covered with some form of electrical insulation. The wire itself is usually copper or aluminum, which is known to be a good conductor of the electric current that powers your equipment. The insulation must be just
electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test 5/12

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

the opposite from a conductor: it should resist current and keep the current in its path along the conductor. To understand insulation testing you really dont need to go into the mathematics of electricity, but one simple equation ohms law can be very helpful in appreciating many aspects. even if youve been exposed to this law before, it may be a good idea to review it in the light of insulation testing.

Purpose of megger test

The purpose of insulation around a conductor is much like that of a pipe carrying water , and ohms law of electricity can be more easily understood by a comparison with water flow. In Figure 1 we show this comparison. Pressure on water from a pump causes flow along the pipe (Fig. 1a). If the pipe were to spring a leak, youd waste water and lose some water pressure. With electricity, voltage is like the pump pressure, causing electricity to flow along the copper wire (Fig. 1b). As in a water pipe, there is some resistance to flow, but it is much less along the wire than it is through the insulation.

Figure 1 - Comparison of water flow (a) with electric current (b)

Common sense tells us that the more voltage we have, the more current therell be. Also, the lower the resistance of the wire, the more current for the same voltage. Actually, this is ohms law, which is expressed this way in equation form:

e=IxR
where, e = voltage in volts I = current in amperes R = resistance in ohms Note, however, that no insulation is perfect (that is, has infinite resistance) so some electricity does flow along the insulation or through it to ground. Such a current may only be a millionth of an ampere (one microampere) but it is the basis of insulation testing equipment. note also that a higher voltage tends to cause more current through the insulation. This small amount of current would not, of course, harm good insulation but would be a problem if the insulation has deteriorated. now, to sum up our answer to the question what is good insulation?
electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

We have seen that, essentially, good means a relatively high resistance to current. Used to describe an insulation material, good would also mean the ability to keep a high resistance. So, a suitable way of measuring resistance can tell you how good the insulation is. Also, if you take measurements at regular periods, you can check trends toward its deterioration (more on this later).

What Makes Insulation Go Bad?

Trend Micro InterScan Web Security Event

When your plant electrical system and equipment are new, the electrical insulation should be in top notch shape. Furthermore, manufacturers of wire, cable, motors, and so on have continually improved their insulations for services in industry. nevertheless, even today, insulation is subject to many effects which can cause it to fail mechanical damage, vibration, excessive heat or cold, dirt, oil, corrosive vapors, moisture from processes, or just the humidity on a muggy day. In various degrees, these enemies of insulation are at work as time goes on combined with the electrical stresses that exist. As pin holes or cracks develop, moisture and foreign matter penetrate the surfaces of the insulation, providing a low resistance path for leakage current. Once started, the different enemies tend to aid each other, permitting excessive current through the insulation. Sometimes the drop in insulation resistance is sudden, as when equipment is flooded. Usually, however, it drops gradually, giving plenty of warning, if checked periodically. Such checks permit planned reconditioning before service failure. If there are no checks, a motor with poor insulation, for example, may not only be dangerous to touch when voltage is applied, but also be subject to burn out. What was good insulation has become a partial conductor. Resource: Megger handbook

TAGS insulation, megger, megger test, meter, ohmmeter, resistance, test FILLED UNDER CATEGORY Energy and Power Metering

Related Technical Articles

electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test

7/12

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

Switching Impulse Test of the Transformer October 11, 2012

Safety Clearance Recommendations for Electrical Panel October 10, 2012

Right Choice of Dry Type or Liquid-Filled Transformer September 29, 2012

Recommended To Read

Lester Allan Pelton - The father of hydroelectric power June 8, 2012

Substation Ventilation Requirements - Ergon January 19, 2011

Coal handling plant in a thermal power generating station March 4, 2012

Edvard - Electrical engineer and programmer working in Schneider Electric, CsanyiGroup and EEP with power
8/12

substations and energy distribution in residential buildings and industry facilities. Professional in AutoCAD programming and web-design. Also developer of awsome piece of electrical design software - ePlusMenuCAD. If you ain't bored yet, read more HERE. Write for EEP, become contributor | Introduce yourself to huge number of our readers and followers RSS Feed for Comments

3 Comments
1. Testing and Commissioning of Metal-Clad Switchgear | EEP Sep 24, 2012 [...] verify the physical condition and proper connections of bus bar. 1.2. Test Equipment Required: Insulation test (Megger) Micro ohmmeter High voltage tester Torque wrench 1.3. Test Procedure:1.3.1. [...] Log in to Reply 2. Basics of 3-phase Induction Motor (part 2) | EEP Aug 02, 2012 [...] [...] Log in to Reply 3. Measurement of insulation resistance (IR) - Part 2 | EEP Apr 29, 2012 [...] a pressure of 1000 V applied between each live conductor and earth for a period of one minute the insulation resistance of HV installations shall be at least 1 Mega ohm or as specified by the Bureau of Indian [...] Log in to Reply

Leave a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment. Login

RSS Feed for Comments

Subscribe to free EEPs updates

Subscribe to Monthly Download Updates:
(free electrical software, engineering guides and books)

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

Email Address: Subscribe also to EE Technical Articles Subscribe

Trend Micro InterScan Web Security Event

URL Blocked
Access to this web site was blocked by an IT URL Filtering policy because of its category.
Event Details: URL:

http://googleads.g.doubleclick.net/pagead/ads?client=ca-pub-7405862446460037&output=html&h=250&slotname= test&dt=1350132847529&bpp=13&shv=r20121008&jsv=r20110914&prev_slotnames=9456207554,9456207554,907 cx=partner-pub-7405862446460037%3A5116040287&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=meggar&sa=GO%21&ad=n portal.com%2F#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=megger&fu=0&ifi=4&dtd=141&xpc=GvrGE5nMZf&p=http://electrical-engineering

C ategory:Web Advertisement

Recent Technical Articles

Difference Between Diffuse and Directed Light October 13, 2012

NEC Requirements for Emergency Systems October 12, 2012

Switching Impulse Test of the Transformer October 11, 2012

Engineering Trainings

electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test

10/12

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

Top EEPs Technical Writers Technical Categories

Select Category

Science at Glance
Our mission is to be the leading provider of scientific information in the field of power and electric engineering in general. We write, we share and spread knowledge. You're welcome to read, write and contribute to EEP in any way!

Electricity and Energy Efficency

We see the results of electricity usage all around us. Every day, the generation of electric power produces more pollution than any other single industry. It's our time to use energy on smart and more efficent way. EEP is on your side!

Electrical Software
Electrical design without appropriate software and tools is impossible to imagine. This section covers professional engineering software for design, MV and LV network and photometric calculations, voltage drop and short circuit calculations etc. 2012 EEP - Electrical Engineering Portal. All Rights Reserved | Privacy Policy 52 queries in 0.402 seconds.
Re comme nde d to re ad and FREE download:
electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test 11/12

Powered by CsanyiGroup

10/13/12

Megger Insulation Resistance Test | EEP

Bus Design In Aboveground Substations

Substations can be constructed partly or entirely within aboveground or belowground enclosures. However, cost is high and complexity is increased...
Sizing and Protection of the Neutral Conductor (1)

Introduction Sizing (c.s.a.) and the protection of the neutral conductor, apart from its current-carrying requirement, depend on several factors, namely:...
Wind Variability

One of the most critical features of wind generation is the variability of wind. Wind speeds vary with time of... Close Top

electrical-engineering-portal.com/megger-insulation-resistance-test

12/12