Bruce Marshall demonstrates the negative effects of air inside a hydronic heating system and the benefits of installing an air separator.

Thermal imaging cameras reveal temperature changes and differences in real time that are invisible to the naked eye.  This allows testing without requiring destruction or contact.  Thermal cameras are therefore very suitable for home inspections, as no exterior or interior finishes need to be taken down, and large areas can be inspected in a short time.

Infrared thermography has become one of the most trusted and common residential inspection tools available.  The real time pictures a thermal imaging camera presents are indisputable and instantly understood by anyone.  No one can argue with this evidence.  With rising energy costs, clients are going to be pleased to find out about any faults causing energy losses in their homes.  Heating, ventilation and air conditioning costs all must be controlled.  Thermal imaging is an extremely efficient method of finding problems with these systems.  Destructive probing, additional labor and time are not required using this technology.

Home owners, residential property managers, real estate agents, insurance companies and contractors all need residential inspection services, and will be best served by a thermal imaging inspection.  A home owner wishes to preserve and protect their investment, as well as lower energy costs.  Property management firms, or those who own large real estate units, all benefit from being apprised early of insect infestations, moisture issues, and mechanical or electrical problems.  Additionally, if a property owner has a large building, or a row housing complex with a shared front façade or roof, they can use the information from a thermal scan to make economically smart decisions.

This information is also invaluable to real estate agents, and goes beyond a typical home inspector report.  Home buyers will want to be made aware of any significant problems, and revise their offered price accordingly.

When a property damage claim is undergoing settlement issues, thermal imaging can provide conclusive evidence.  Also, proof of regular building and facility inspections may qualify the insured party for a substantial insurance contract discount.

In cases where a building contractor will have an advantage by being able to identify clear problems and prove that repairs have been completed correctly, thermal imaging will provide unmistakable documentation.  Insulation, restoration and repair costs can be minimized by conducting a thermal scan before building valuations, transactions, or major system upgrades.

A thermal imaging camera detects small temperature differences and uses an algorithm to display a picture of these differences so that we can see them.  They work indoors and outdoors, and on wood, concrete, drywall, electrical wiring etc., and look and operate much like a camcorder.

• Leak and humidity detection
• Floor heating and building envelope thermography
• Air tightness testing
• Door seal inspection
• Wall seal heat loss inspection
• Moisture, within the structure, floor and roof thermography inspection
• Covered openings searches within walls
• HVAC, electrical systems inspections
• Pest inspections
• Missing insulation
• And many other inspections.

Thermal infrared inspections were seen in the past as affordable solely for large commercial organizations, but no longer.  Residential homeowners want to use the same technology to find sources of energy losses:  air leaks, insufficient insulation, and moisture problems.  Over time, correction of these problems will save the home owner a significant amount of money.

If a home owner has a new to mid-life flat roof and has been told that a new roof is needed because of a leak, it is very possible that a thermal imaging scan will detect the exact source of the issue and save the owner substantial funds.

Thermal imaging cameras will show all of the following during inspection:

• Faulty doors and door seals will be shown by the heat loss through the door.
• Wet basements, often resulting from poor grading around the home’s perimeter.  Improper grading and drainage has been found to be the most common cause of water in the basement or crawlspace.
• Undersized electrical service to the home, inadequate overload protection, and dangerous, amateur-performed wiring connections.
• Broken heating system controls, blocked chimneys and unsafe exhausts have been discovered.
• Heat losses have also been commonly found arising from poor maintenance of surfaces, masonry, plumbing, wiring and broken fixtures.  Inadequate caulking and poor weather stripping are further causes.  Over-sealing of homes and especially attics, causing poor ventilation, has resulted in excessive interior moistures, leading to rot.

Thermal imaging cameras offer residential homeowners, property management firms, insurance companies, real estate agents and their clients, and building contractors an easy-to-use, indisputable and quick method of inspecting these very important assets.