Infrared Inspections

Why Infrared Inspections?

A thermographic inspection can be used for either an interior or exterior survey. The energy auditor decides which method would give the best results under certain weather conditions.

Interior scans are more common, because warm air escaping from a building does not always move through the walls in a straight line. Heat loss detected in one area of the outside wall might originate at some other location on the inside of the wall. Also, it is harder to detect temperature differences on the outside surface of the building during windy weather. Because of this difficulty, interior surveys are generally more accurate because they benefit from reduced air movement.

The following scans show heat loss/air infiltration at entrance doors where the weatherstripping is deteriorated and in a ceiling where insulation is missing and/or excessive air infiltration is present. The blue and black colors indicate areas with extreme energy loss which should be evaluated further to determine what repairs are needed.

Why is Infrared Thermal Imaging vital to your Inspection?

Under normal conditions, we are limited to seeing light only in the visible spectrum called white light. This is the light that bounces off everyday objects whether that light is being emitted by the Sun or an artificial source such as a lamp or light bulb. Without assistance from technology, we are unable to see surface temperature variances, and it is the ability to see these variances that allows us to more-accurately identify potential, and immediate, problems in a building that would have otherwise been missed.
The unique aspect of seeing surface temperature variances is that such variances can be caused by issues that may lie below the surface of a floor, behind a wall, or above a ceiling: that is places that are concealed and are thus out-of-sight.  

Surface temperature variances can be caused by:

1. Airflow such as cold air seeping under a door or warm air leaking from heating ducts. The air itself changes the surface temperature of objects that come in contact with the air.
2. Plumbing or water leaks that may be too small to manifest themselves in plain sight.
3. Living organisms such as mold, mildew and household pests. These organisms often thrive in places that cannot be seen by the naked eye (such as behind walls).
4. Issues with the building’s electrical systems. By being able to pinpoint "hot spots" in circuit panels and other wiring.

Thermal Imaging technology provides you with a level of service that increases the speed by which many problems can be identified, reducing the collateral damage required to fix those problems, increases the accuracy rate of correctly identifying problems, and helps you to catch small problems sooner so that don't become expensive or unmanageable problems that can affect the health or financial well-being of the occupants.

In conclusion, Infrared thermography is a non-contact, non-destructive technique that utilizes a thermal imager to detect and record thermal patterns and temperatures across the surface of most objects.  Infrared thermography may be applied to any situation where knowledge of thermal profiles and temperatures can provide meaningful data about the conditions present within a system or object. Infrared is one of the newest technologies being used in the construction industry to assist in the detection and assessment of pest problems, water infiltration, conditions conducive to mold growth and the detection of insulation performance in a building without the need for extensive destructive testing.  Infrared thermography can be used in both new and existing construction.

Infrared inspections and analysis should be performed by a qualified Certified Building Science or LEVEL I Thermographer.