Infrared Diagnostics and Thermography

Infrared Diagnostics and ThermographyWilson Services is proud to announce its most recent professional service, Thermal Imaging with the infrared camera. Only the most serious of home energy consultants commit to this level professionalism.

With this technology we are able to see energy (whether heating or cooling) leaving the home. If every home out there was built properly, sealed with correct air barriers, and insulated properly, this technology would never have seen the light of day as far as home energy diagnostics is concerned.

The camera is very simple to use. Where the training comes in is being able to interpret the image. The two biggest factors that can throw off a novice camera operator are the background reflection and the varying emissivity values (different objects have different abilities to emit heat). An example with background reflection: a warm piece of metal on the ground can appear cold (its reflecting the sky's cold temperature), and conversely a cold object in a hot environment could appear hot. An example with emissivity values: a 100F cup of coffee in a Styrofoam cup will not show up the same way a 100F piece of steel pipe would. The two examples here are somewhat simple; it gets a bit more complex in the real world.

Although the IR (infrared) camera can not see though walls, it can see signatures that let the operator determine all kids of important information. Because mold is becoming more of a concern in the building community, a wall that has mold in it will generally show up on the screen due to evaporative cooling from the moisture in the wall. To detect moisture, it may be necessary to elevate to the temperature of the building. Moisture changes the thermal conductivity and the thermal mass of the material. Mold can grow in temperatures ranging from 40F to 100F, and humidity levels above 50%, and food is required as well.

IR can be used is almost endless scenarios, including roof inspections, medical observation, drug enforcement, military, electrical connections, electrical power yard and power line maintenance to name just a few of them. If you want to know how much money you are losing each year, or would like to learn more on how you can conserve more energy, then contact us today for an energy audit.

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