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The Role of
Thermal Imaging Cameras in Mold Inspections |
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A
Brief Video
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Thermal
Imaging Targets Moisture
Thermal imaging systems have been used by the
military to detect and identify enemy personnel,
equipment, and buildings for years. Helicopters,
fighter planes and even some missiles use
thermal imaging for targeting. Law enforcement
agencies also use this technology for everything
from tracking criminals at night to spotting
illegal crossings of international borders.
Thermal imaging has now been in place for a
number of years within the building industry and
has been used to find problems with building
materials, such as: hidden water leaks, leaks
within the HVAC system, general plumbing leaks
and faulty electrical and mechanical systems.
For example, thermal imaging has been
successfully utilized to help determine whether
or not there are any significant energy losses
due the incorrect amount of insulation or even
missing insulation, thermal imaging has also
been used successfully to help locate loose
electrical connections or overheated breaker
boxes by identifying “hot spots”.
The Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) industry has made
significant strides in the use of this
outstanding technology as a way to provide
accurate and reliable results during
investigations. In fact, it has been determined
that the proper use of this technology can help
cut investigation time significantly.
Investigators now have the ability to examine
roofs, floors and walls for moisture intrusions
and/or electrical problems. This technology does
not utilize x-ray technology but instead uses
the variances in temperatures to accurately
pinpoint potential problems.
While this equipment cannot readily detect mold,
it does hold the “key” to finding mold by
quickly and accurately identifying the
conditions necessary for mold to be present. By
identifying variances in surface temperature,
thermal imaging has the ability to help us
quickly find moisture incursions. The variances
in the surface temperatures often mean that
there has recently been a moisture incursion and
that variance in the temperature of the moisture
present behind the surface is affecting the
surface temperature, which is easily detected by
high quality infrared cameras. Thermal imaging
cameras have quickly become the “must have tool”
for IAQ Professionals as they can help to
expedite the investigation process
significantly, thereby providing investigators
with opportunities to increase the number of
investigations that can be completed on a daily
basis.
This recently updated product line can also be
an asset to remediation and restoration
companies as thermal imaging is extremely useful
to ensure that building structures have been
thoroughly dried out. If walls within a given
building structure are not dried completely,
microbial problems will continue to be a problem
because the conditions necessary for mold growth
are still present. Once the problem is
identified, it is extremely important to correct
the problem that caused the moisture incursion
in the first place – infrared technology now
gives you the ability to quickly assess the
thoroughness of the completed job. The thermal
imaging camera can help determine if a wall was
dried properly after remediation, which in turn
saves time and money by preventing investigator
or contractor re-visits.
The thermal imaging camera has quickly become a
standard piece of equipment for IAQ
investigations and is becoming the most notable
tool for all reputable investigators. Thermal
imaging, once thought to be out of reach to
some, has very quickly become affordable to
most, as there are now several financing options
available to the small business owner (not to
mention potential tax savings) along with lower
cost models that only recently became available.
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