Transformer Monitoring

Online DGA covers one transformer at a time at a cost that makes fleet-wide deployment nearly impossible. VIE covers every transformer in the fleet: autonomously, non-invasively, and continuously. Lab DGA results feed back into VIE's models, where VIE's AI synergistically combines gas data with continuous vibration, thermal, and weather analysis to extract insights that no expert could derive from lab DGA data alone — and the accuracy of predictions compounds with every additional data point.

VIE and dissolved gas analysis are not competing tools. They occupy different positions in the diagnostic sequence. VIE detects mechanical and electrical fault signatures before gases accumulate. DGA confirms what happened after they do. Used together, they cover more of the failure timeline than either one alone.

VIE produces six categories of health metrics, each mapped to a specific failure mode and positioned as either a leading or coincident indicator. This article explains what each metric detects, what a rising value means, and what action it points toward.

Transformer failures are not random. They follow specific mechanical, electrical, and thermal patterns that produce measurable signals before they produce damage. This article maps every failure mode VIE monitors to the metric that detects it, the physical process it represents, and how early in that process VIE's signal typically appears.

Excess heat flux at the top of the tank and excess heat flux at lower sensor heights are not the same problem. One points toward insulation stress or winding overloading. The other points toward a cooling obstruction. VIE's multi-height sensor placement makes this distinction continuously visible — without a site visit, without a thermal camera, and without waiting for gas to accumulate in the oil.

A VIE health report is a decision tool, not a status page. Each metric section tells you what is happening, how serious it is, and what to do next. This article walks through how to read one from top to bottom, including how two real-world findings translated into targeted action before either transformer failed.

VIE scales from a single transformer to a fleet of thousands without trading diagnostic precision for coverage. Each unit gets its own baseline, its own metrics, and its own alert threshold. Fleet size changes the number of data streams. It does not change what VIE knows about each individual asset.