How an Infrared Survey works for you

This post will explain how an Infrared Survey can save you money, go green and assist in solving other unique problems. Most commonly, a home or business owner contacts us to perform a survey on their home or business. An estimate of the time required to complete the survey is given, and the survey is performed.

The survey is carried out when the largest temperature delta possible is present, thereby giving the best possible thermal contrast for the imaging. The temperature delta is simply the difference between the interior and exterior temperatures of the structure. If the survey is for equipment maintenance/inspection, this is not necessary.

Infrared and non-infrared images are captured throughout the survey. Commonly the owner will be present throughout the procedure. This allows for any particular items of concern to be investigated fully, and known issues pointed out. Following the survey, Advanced Energy Solutions provides a full report outlining the areas of interest/concern. The owner can then contact the appropriate repair or inspection service to proceed with investigation of issues.

Issues commonly noted during a survey:

Electrical problems

Unconditioned air infiltration

Water intrusion/leakage

Ductwork problems

Insulation problems

Uneven air distribution

Etc

An Infrared Survey is not limited to the above. Other imaging and reporting can be provided to suit any customer’s requirements. Such as:

Imaging of Industrial equipment (electrical, mechanical, etc)

Hydro transmission systems

Pest Control (IR can see rodent nests, bee’s nests, etc within a structure)

Farm Survey (Barns, equipment, hay/straw storage etc)

Animals (horses, pets etc can be imaged for anomalies indicating discomfort/defect)

And many more!

See our other posts for examples if IR images and survey results.


Contact us via Email and get a sample report or set up a custom survey to suit your needs!

See the Advanced Energy Solutions article Thermal Imaging for home comfort

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Thermal Imaging for home comfort

Most owners keep their homes at a comfortable temperature year round. Unfortunately it is all too common for this comfort level to be disrupted by unwanted air movement (drafts). Even though the average temperature within the home is kept at a reasonable level by the furnace or air conditioning thermostat; there may be areas within the home that feel much different.

Thermal Imaging can show a homeowner exactly where the unwanted air intrusion is coming from. Armed with this information, the owner can proceed with repairs to the exact area of defect. No longer does anyone need to guess and spend extraneous amounts of money trying to save energy or increase their comfort level. The entire operation has moved from a best guess to a targeted strike against energy loss.

Drafts and unwanted air intrusion are one of the most common complaints by homeowners. Often described as “sitting in this area just feels cold sometimes”, this is usually an indication that there is undesirable air movement in that vicinity. Repairing the defect causing the intrusion can be as simple as some sealer, a new door seal, or re-distributing insulation.  Even when a home's overall average temperature is at the desired level, certain areas can vary greatly due to problems. This creates unwanted energy loss, and translates directly into more money spent by owners.

A Thermographic survey can reveal exact locations of these problems. The information contained in a Thermographic Report can then be given to an appropriate professional for evaluation and repairs.

See below for some examples of unwanted air intrusion revealed by Infrared

Area of air intrusion- significant temp drop

Air intrusion

Bottom right of door- large temperature variance

Air intrusion from non-insulated area

Armed with the information provided by a Thermographic survey of their home or business, owners can target key areas for repairs, reducing energy consumption and maximizing energy/money savings.

Seeing the invisible world

People have compared using Infrared Thermography to having superpowers.  Enabling us to see the invisible world all around us.  At a glance qualitative asessments can be completed and either dismissed, or flagged for further quantitative investigation.  Sometimes the anomalies observed are, in fact, a normal condition of operation.  Others could be an indication of major problems or design weaknesses.

Below is panel observed daily with no issues noted or problems observed.  Once Infrared Imaging is utilized to observe, an anomaly presents.  Now the question is raised, is this a normal condition of the equipment?  Or can a definative conclusion be made at all with the data available?

Panel Normal View

What the IR Camera sees

Visible

What IR can see

No attempt was made to adjust for Reflected Apparent Temp, or Emissivity in the photos.  This is purely what a very quick scan of the panel yielded.   Further investigation with current measurement will be carried out to verify the integrity of the system.

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Thermography Experience

More and more people are purchasing infrared cameras lately.  Advertising would have you believe that anyone can perform Thermography.  Routinely advertisers will state that you can be performing inspections right away with no experience.  Nothing could be further from the truth.

I will admit that the new IR cameras are extremely user friendly.  Functions such as basic Emissivity adjustment that only has a minimal list of finish types instead of numbers, allow a new user to get a more believable measurement.  Although the number is more believable- it is usually not accurate.

Experienced Thermographers have a skillset which enables them to interpret what they are seeing on the camera, make necessary adjustments to compensate for many variables, dismiss what is invalid or caused by other factors (reflections, sun load, air movement etc), and provide you with a report containing relevant data.

See below for an example of reflections causing invalid data.

Standard 3 Phase Contactor- Note the steel backdrop

Another area closeby- Note the anomoly (7.7 deg)

Same but in Greyscale

Gues what.....

Pay no attention to the man behind the mask...

The anomaly was entirely caused by the Thermographer himself (me).  Many materials act just like a mirror to Infrared Radiation.  The increased temperature observed was actually the reflection of the imager wearing flash protection PPE. 

Without knowing what they are looking for, an inexperienced Thermographer can get led astray very quickly.  If you enlist the services of an experienced IR Thermographer, you won't be disappointed.

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Home Thermography examples

A couple examples of some anomalies noted during some recent IR Imaging.  Sometimes when imaging we notice blatent visible damge leading to further investigation and problem areas noted, sometimes I am totally taken by surpirse...

Defenitely keeps this field interesting.

Can you spot the water damage?

There it is...

Looking at a ceiling

Interesting....

Image now formatted and palette changed

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Thermography Reveals Bathroom Water Damage

Water leakage can be damaging and extremely costly to homeowners.  Often owners are unaware of minor leaks and damage untill the become a serious problem.  Here are some pictures of a shower surround which has been leaking a small amount of water from a corner joint.   The damage shows up clearly of the thermal images from several feet away. 

On closer inspection it was noted that mildew had been forming inside the joint, but the images show far more.  The extent of the water migration becomes quite apparent.

Image showing the damp area

Changed to Greyscale for better view

Temperature variance now scaled- Note heat plume area from vent (borders problem area)

Due to the fact that a furnace duct was causing some interference with the image (noted bottom left heat source)  the vent was closed off and imaging repeated later that day.  The extent of the water/mildew damage was verfied from basement access and can be repaired before further damage occurs.

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Video showing the basics of Thermal Imaging

Use of Thermography is not quite as simple as picking up a camera and spotting issues. Many things will lead you astray such as material emissivity, thermal properties etc. An experienced thermographer will be well versed in dealing with all the variables.

There a few mistakes in this video but overall it shows the basic concepts.



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FLIR i7 Camera Demo

Check out what FLIR technology can do for you.



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Advanced Energy Solutions

The Site has finally been activated.  First a little background; Advanced Energy Solutions is based in Goderich Ontario Canada. 

Advanced Energy Solutions provides professionial Thermography (Infared Imaging). The images capture what human eyes cannot see. No other method of non-destructive testing reveals what Thermography can.

Advanced Energy Solutions uses world-class FLIR infared imaging equipment.

The services most commonly provided are:

1. Home imaging- Energy Loss, Electrical components, Water intrusion, mould, general air movement etc.

2. Industrial imaging- Heat Loss, electrical imaging (too vast to list), motors, gearboxes etc.

The services provided by a thermographer extend far beyond the above as well;

- Imaging of Hydro transmission lines and substations

- Imaging of pets, farm animals etc provide locations of temperature anomolies indicating a problem

- Pest control (animals cannot hide from infared)

- Lost pet location

- Custom IR inspections

- Anything else you can think of...



Update see my new post on the equipment;  FLIR i7 used by Advanced Energy Solutions.

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