subject: Thermal infrared imaging for home inspection is here to stay, like it or not folks [print this page] Thermal infrared imaging for home inspection is here to stay, like it or not folks
Our Scottsdale Home Inspector firm has conducted many infrared and energy audit inspections. Thermal Image tests are important quality control measures when building or renovating a house.Heat losses in buildings can account for up to 50%of the total energy consumption and comes from air leakage through chimneys, attics, wall vents and badly sealed windows/doors, stucco etc.
Moisture control problems are just a tip of the iceburg. The recent mass production of ram shakkle stucco homes thru-out the state show considerable defects in insulation, poor workmanship, amateure materials and more. Track homes were built in mass with over worked inspectors, shady trades working by "the piece" furiously trying to finish and get paid. Where does it leave us? Everything looks grand from the exterior, however when peeling back the sheets of this fiasco of building, many deficiencies are uncovered. Should we keep our mouth shut, after-all it is supposed to be "non-evasive" & "non destructive" home inspection.
Cost? Affordable! Extremely affordable. For a few hundred bucks we can show you where the house can save that and tenfold more by simply chasing the losses. Then go figure how much you save with a solar panel. I recently attended a 3 day seminar at ASU with a new start up trying just that. It is expected that savings wouldn't kick in for 20 years by going solar! What a joke. I say, invite us in and show you your losses directly. I didn't like that, I mean show you the potential gains.
Detection and Visualisation of Air Infiltration and Exfiltration
Adequate air exchange is essential for the occupants' health and safety, but most buildings have a far higher rate of air exchange than is necessary. The root cause is often poor design and/or construction which allows air leakage from the inside of outside of the building, or the opposite. The leakage pathway is often complex and, without thermal imaging, extremely difficult to visualize. This also allows the contractors to quickly identify and repair the problem areas to stop the energy loss immediately.
Improved Energy Efficiency
To identify areas of energy waste infrared imaging has quickly become a valued tool in identifying problems related to energy loss, missing insulation, inefficient HVAC systems, radiant heating, water damage on roofs, and much more. A thermal imaging camera identifies patterns of heat loss that are invisible to the naked eye. Thermal imagingwill quickly indicate the air leaks within a property andmeasurement data are easily compiled into a report. Professional home inspectors and energy auditors here at Target Building Inspections are using leading-edge infrared technology from FLIRto perform energy auditing of homes and buildings to improve energy efficiency, thus leading to savings on energy costs.
