The automatic reaction most people have when they suspect a leak is “I should call a plumber to come and find it”. Depending on the nature of the leak, there could be a more logical way to approach this.
Plumbers V’s thermal imaging. This information below could help you determine which path to go down if you find yourself sensing a leak around your home.
Please read further information here about this topic.
Here’s a simple run down on why we use the cameras we do, and why a thermal imaging inspection on your home could be more effective early in the morning or late in the afternoon, rather than the middle of the day…
The problem with our real world environment is that for a majority of the day say between 10am and 3pm our environment is very much in equilibrium (i.e. very little difference between inside and outside of a building). Early morning and late afternoon our environment is in a “heating” or “cooling” phase, giving us a good differential or change in our environment. Good thermal imaging camera operators will always take advantage of these two keys times, however, practically, it does not leave a lot of the day to work with, so that’s why our company (NZ Leak & Heat Loss Detection Ltd.) use a highly sensitive camera that can work at all hours of the day.
For example: An infrared camera of average sensitivity makes it very difficult to work in the middle part of the day, and you simply just won’t see a void in the wall, moisture, stud or missing insulation. You will just get a uniform surface with no apparent defect at all. So if the camera is sub-standard, or operator is not properly trained and certified, it is impossible to know what he/she is NOT SEEING, when they are using a camera of average sensitivity. Defects such as excess moisture in the wall, floor or ceiling simply won’t appear, and you have nothing to reference it against. Consequently, that is why we use the appropriate camera because we need to work in “less than ideal” times, i.e. during the day. In saying that, there are many applications that we need to do late at night, or very early morning when the environmental conditions are optimal, or we would simply be wasting ours and your time during the day (rendered facade on high rise, concrete cancers etc). (Thanks to IPI Australia for some of the above info).
Our cameras are highly accurate, and re-calibrated once per year to assure accuracy.
Would you prefer to turn a blind eye to what’s behind your walls, and get a nasty surprise down the track? We can do a scan of your home in less than an hour in some cases, and you can have a piece of mind in the process!
Call us today – Contact Us.
Recently I was asked “What’s the difference between a building inspection and a thermal imaging inspection?”
Both a building inspector and a certified thermal imaging inspector play very important roles in the pre purchase process of buying a home. Wise home buyers these days are now getting both types of inspections to help reduce their chances of buying a lemon.
Thermal imaging can see what the human eye can not see.
How about this photo below… do you think a regular building inspector that doesn’t use thermal imaging will find this missing insulation and leak behind the wall? The really good inspectors will find it, but some won’t. With thermal imaging, we supply you with a photo exactly like the one below with a highly detailed image of where the problem is, allowing the building inspector to go directly to the area and check for potential issues and structural integrity of the area.
(Image taken inside an NZ home)
The picture below is another example of what we mean: Thermal imaging cameras detect temperature differences on any given surface, and when we see an inconsistent pattern in the camera , we then know where the problem starts and where it finishes. Take the picture below of an air leak for example… do you really think a building inspector is going to be able to visually see areas of air infiltration into your home? This type of air leak can drive up your energy bills in winter due to heat loss.
You should really have a thermal imaging scan before a building inspection, for this reason… if you can supply the qualified building inspector with thermal imaging photos of the home, then he can look closer at the structural integrity of the building where the problem areas have been identified in addition to his usual inspection routine.
Contact us today for a complete thermal imaging inspection of your next home!
