Thermal Inspections

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Thermal Imaging is heat imaging. It is a process that involves a technology used to look at warm and cold heat signatures. It is conducted using a special camera that can detect infrared radiation.

We can only see the colors of the rainbow - the colors between ultraviolet and up to infrared, but our eyes can't see into the infrared or electromagnetic spectrum. And what the infrared can see is heat energy or lack thereof.

A thermal imaging camera can see in the infrared spectrum. The infrared spectrum will reveal warm and cold heat signatures. The colors of a warm-looking image are white and red. In contrast, a cold image is yellowish and blue.

Water and moisture absorb heat energy which causes it to have a cool signature. The infrared camera detects these cool signatures. So with a thermal imaging home inspection, we're looking for those cool signatures to indicate that there's possibly a water leak somewhere - a leak not visible through any other means and that can, left undetected, turn into a catastrophic issue.

Most leaks don't happen overnight. It may take many weeks or even months before the issue turns into a full-blown leak. And by then, it's usually done a lot of damage along the way. The goal of the thermal imaging inspection is to identify the hidden trouble spots early on so needed repairs can be made.

A certified inspector will use a thermal imaging camera, called a FLIR (Forward Looking Infrared), to conduct the thermal imaging inspection as an add-on to a home or commercial  inspection.