Roof leaks, energy loss and building envelope moisture are all now visible with current color infrared camera technology. Decisions about costly building restoration and maintenance needs can now be made with little doubt by building owners and managers based on the color images these cameras generate. There is no longer any need to base decisions on gray scale infrared cameras.
Infrared energy is invisible to the naked eye. It is emitted by all objects. Infrared thermography uses infrared imaging and measurement cameras to capture and measure this energy. Infrared thermography is a technology that allows thermal or infrared radiation and light to be transformed into a visible image, according to the Institute of Infrared Thermography.
Infrared cameras are able to detect moisture because the temperature of building materials changes when they become wet, or even moist. So for example, how does an infrared camera track a leak in a commercial roofing system? Even though there is a leak, not all of the roofing systems insulation is wet; the infrared camera picks up the contrast between the wet area(s) and the dry area(s) of the insulation. Imaging contrast between adjacent areas of the same material is the general principle behind this type of moisture detection, according to infrared specialists, Infrared Building Diagnostics, LLC.
The warm areas on a commercial buildings exterior wall where heat is escaping in the winter contrast in an infrared image with the rest of the dry exterior surface or underlying insulation. Building envelopes often contain numerous highly heat-conductive elements called thermal bridges. An un-insulated metal window frame is a good example of a thermal bridge. These thermal bridges can lose heating or cooling energy depending on the season.
Infrared cameras can capture and measure temperatures from -20 to 500C with accuracies to around 2% at 30C. The latest generation cameras store this data and images on removable digital media. From there the images and data are easily downloadable and readable with desktop or laptop computers.
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