Building Thermography Services
IR Thermography for buildings has a very wide range of benefits and has become standard practice in Northern Europe.
- Reduce energy consuption by discovering thermal 'leaks' (e.g. weak points in insulation)
- Identify damp areas causing structural problems (rising damp) or health risks (mould).
- Save on unnecessary maintenance and identify the root cause to fix.
- Leak detection in bathrooms, roofs and ceilings.
- Appraisal of buildings after repair work or before buying.
- Photovoltaic system checks and solar hot water system checks.
- Non-destructive - no mess or damage to surfaces, there are just IR images taken.
Rising damp is a common problem, especially in older buildings. Because the cause of the problem is almost invisible, often only the symptoms are addressed. These are are smelly rooms, mould and flaking plaster or paint. IR images can visualise the root cause so the right areas can be fixed. This is especially important as mould can seriously affect the well being of the inhabitants.
Missing wall insulation can make your house freezing cold in winter and boiling hot in summer. Often more insulation is added in the easily accessible areas, but not in the actual areas causing the problem. Find the weak spots in your insulation and cut your heating and cooling costs. Can you spot the timber wall studs in the image of the badly insulated wall?
Water takes time before creating visible damage. IR thermography can spot wet areas before they become a problem. Water leaks can originate from many different areas: A roof leak, a dripping pipe, bad waterproofing, etc. If the fault is located and fixed early it saves a lot of hassle and money. The image shows no visual damage on the ceiling, but the IR image reveals it is soaking wet.
Things to consider
An IR thermography can only create images if there is a difference in temperature, which means thermography needs to be carried out at the right time and in the right weather. If it hasn't rained recently, you will not be able to find your roof leak. Therefore, to make the most of thermography, we request a detailed description of the problem beforehand, so the best time and methodology can be selected.
For the complete work package (including travel, on-site thermography, off-site analysis, detailed report) it will be roughly $400 to assess a problem in a residential house, which is a small price compared to that of ongoing damage. (This is a general guide and may vary depending on the scope of the job).
Have a look at the blog for more detailed information about how it works, applications and methodology.