The thermal behavio of a commutator is observed by means of a simple equivalent circuit consisting of sources of losses, thermal resistances and capacities. A more correct calculation of the commutator temperature can be made by laying a network of heatsources over the commutator cross section where by the location and amount of the power losses and thermal resistances are known. With the help of a sufficiently close-meshed network it is possible to reconstruct a complete heat distribution diagram of a commutator.