What is infrared and how can it help your home? Our inspection team has taken an infrared course through Monroe Infrared. Offering infrared scans helps alleviate fears of the unknown for our clients regarding issues of moisture and water leaks.
Why should you consider having infrared scans added to your inspection? Here’s a few questions you can ask:
- Does your home feel colder than it should?
- Do you have an older home (+70 years)?
- Has your home been through a flood, located in a low lying area, or has it had roof damage from high winds?
- Is your home a newly constructed home?
Infrared (IR) aka thermal imaging, uses a special camera to detect potential heat variances. It can also detect possible moisture and mold growth. Infrared technology has been around for several years, and the technology continues to grow.
WHAT DOES INFRARED AND YOUR HOME SHOW?
IR imaging will show potential heat loss, hot spots in wiring, moisture leaks and more. We often get asked “how does an IR camera scan work for these issues”? When viewing an IR scan, the heat differences between surfaces (potential gaps, air leaks around windows, bad wiring) will show on the image. The image may be a video or still images taken with the camera. The same applies to water leaks due to the moisture will retain/lose heat quicker than air. These situations apply to bathrooms, saunas, or most anyplace plumbing is used.
Here are a few ways Infrared can help you:
Ways Infrared Can Help You
- HVAC
- Energy Inspections
- Electrical Inspections
- Roofing / Moisture Detection
- Mechanical Inspections
Here’s something to consider when hiring an inspector who says they do infrared. Buying an IR camera doesn’t make anyone a qualified and confident thermal camera operator any more than buying a scalpel qualifies someone to be a surgeon! You can be assured with us that three of our inspectors have successfully completed training and testing so they are certified in infrared. And that means having infrared scans can save you hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars. As an example, having an IR scan could save you those dollars by detecting air gaps around windows, possible gaps in the roof (chimney, air ducts/venting, etc.) plumbing issues you cannot detect visually, and insulation.
