Thermal Imaging

Thermal imaging uses infrared radiation to focus in on a central heat zone which helps identify problems in and around the home during a home inspection. It’s a great tool that our experts at Hamilton Inspector enjoy using because if offers many benefits to our clients and often finds easily-missed areas where there is a problem that needs to be addressed.
 
Current Home Conditions
Thermal imaging is mostly used during home inspections to better understand your home’s current conditions. As there are sometimes issues that we rarely look at or realize are issues, you could be using appliances without knowing of a leak or energy loss, or you could be assuming a connection is broken when it’s merely the circuit breaker that needs replacing. Thermal imaging uses gradient colors to determine where the hot spots of damage are in the home and what needs to be analyzed or repaired. The areas that are abnormal emit a reddish-yellow hue that help localize the problem spots.
 
Energy Loss
Thermal imaging can also be used to help determine if there is any energy being lost throughout the home or in appliance connections. Determining any energy loss is not only beneficial for you if you plan on staying in the home, but it can ensure that the new owners of the home aren’t experiencing high utility costs from unused energy that’s otherwise going to waste. It can determine where shortages are and can further direct you on how to treat them so that you’re not overpaying in energy bills and not receiving the amount of energy you actually pay for. Such energy loss accounts for heating loss, damages in heating system, air conditioners, and much more.
 
Plumbing and Water Leaks
What’s great about thermal imaging is that they can determine all kinds of energy faults and problems, such as those behind walls or within pipes and plumbing that we may not even be able to see daily. Thermal imaging can be used to detect all sorts of internal plumbing leaks behind the drywall or within the infrastructure – including walls and ceilings – as well as roof leaks, any moisture leaks in your ductwork, and any kind of moisture leaks or buildup that would eventually lead to mold and pest problems.
 
Pest Problems and Infestations
Thermal imaging can detect any pest problems or infestations that you have as well. This is especially crucial, as you don’t want to continue living with a pest problem that you can’t see nor do you want a pest problem that could potentially worsen over time. Thermal imaging can typically pick up on the heat radiated from certain pests the feed off of wood, as well as larger pests such as mice, rats, and any other pests you might have lingering in your home or behind the walls. The heat emitted by most pests is enough to show up on our camera system, even if the pests are lingering deep beneath the surfaces and aren’t visible to the naked eye.