Thermal Imaging: Part 2

Many home inspectors incorporate thermal imaging into their home inspections—so many, in fact, that due to the volume of excellent responses from ASHI members, this is the second installment of a two-part article. Part I was published in the April 2021 issue. We asked ASHI members to share their perspectives on thermal imaging and infrared cameras and, on the pages that follow, you’ll read what some of them said to answer the questions:

• Do you have a thermal imaging / infrared camera and, if so, do you use it?
  Why or why not?
• If you do, offer tips or strategies for best practices and share what was important to you when selecting a camera for purchase.
• Also, what other principles should home inspectors consider if they are thinking about adding thermal imaging to their inspection toolkit?

Sean M. McKenzie

Burlington Home Inspection Service Ltd., Burlington, VT

It is hard to ignore the potential that infrared (IR) imaging has for home inspection. With this in mind, I bought a camera at InspectionWorld® a few years ago. It is an FLIR C3 that looks like any compact digital camera. Frankly, I chose it for its price, which was what I felt I could afford at the time. I contemplate getting further educated in order to add IR as an additional service. For now, I use it sparingly and that works well for me for various reasons, including how clients and references see me when shopping for an inspector. I’ve had the occasion to see inspection reports that use IR photos sprinkled throughout the report, but without explanation. It looks impressive ,but doesn’t seem useful. I decided to strive to make my use of IR clearly relevant to a specific observation.

Examples:

• If a home is heated with radiant floor piping or electric radiant heat, I will use it to help verify that the heat is working and where it claims to be. It can reveal some odd arrangements that the client appreciates seeing. At one inspection, a concrete garage floor was supposed to have radiant piping; the camera showed the heat pattern in only half of the garage.
• If I suspect a leak that could be old or something hidden, I will use it and then follow up with the moisture meter to confirm. I only do this if the area or spot isn’t obviously wet.
• It is occasionally useful during the heating season here in Vermont to help answer a client question about energy loss at a specific location.
• My son, who is an inspector in Florida, uses his IR camera at shower enclosures that otherwise look just fine—wow.

In short, I use a thermal imaging camera as a supplement to what I see and to my (professional) opinion, similar to my camera or my receptacle tester/analyzer. As the saying goes, “a picture is worth___”

Matthew Steger

Preferred Home Inspection Service, LLC, Murfreesboro, TN

I have an IR camera and have been offering infrared thermography for about five years now. I took and passed the ITC level 1 infrared thermographer class. I use it for many inspections as an extra tool to help locate various potential issues such as overheated electrical connections and components, missing wall or ceiling insulation, potentially hidden leaks from plumbing or at roofs or foundations, as well as cold or hot air infiltration. I charge extra for this service as it requires additional training and equipment, plus adds some time to the inspection.

I recommend you get properly trained to use your IR camera before ever using it at an inspection. I see many inspectors post IR images on social media, but they have no idea what they are looking at. That only potentially hurts them, their business and their clients, and it potentially hurts our industry. Infrared thermography is a complicated thing, but with the proper training from a reputable company and a good resolution IR camera, it can help you stand out and also help lower your liability, as the IR camera can help you find things you may have otherwise missed.

When choosing an IR camera, brand and resolution is everything. I see some inspectors use only the small IR add-on cameras to their smart phones. These generally have low resolution and aren’t really for professional use. A good quality mid- or high-resolution IR camera can mean all the difference in finding an issue and totally missing the issue and obtaining proper temperature readings. Proper training will also cover things like emissivity and camera settings based upon your environment.

Choose a mid or high-resolution IR camera from a reputable brand and supplier. Buy the highest resolution that you can reasonably afford to do the job right. Then, get properly trained. Only then, after you’ve passed the training course and are confident that you know how to properly use the IR camera and properly decipher what the camera tells you, should you use it professionally during an inspection.

Todd Thuss

Integra Inspection Services, LLC, Madison, AL

I own two thermal cameras, a higher-end unit and one that attaches to a smartphone. I have found that infrared capability is a good tool to have, but I don’t use it regularly. For instance, it’s not amenable to carry around in a crawlspace. I tend to grab an infrared camera to dig into a potential issue, such as a suspected water leak/intrusion or missing insulation. In the case of water intrusion, I always follow up with a moisture meter for verification.

Infrared thermography requires training and discernment, too, in order to use it effectively. When using it for finding water intrusion, the user is looking for temperature differences. Such differences are not guaranteed to be present and depend on other factors, making thermography less than a slam-dunk as a diagnostic tool (in my opinion) when looking for water intrusion.

My recommendation is to purchase a unit as inexpensive and small enough that you’ll actually use it, then get some training. It has its place in home inspection and is one of several tools that we should all have and be proficient with.