Thermal Imaging Cameras can be used to identify and troubleshoot many different components of the home:
Moisture: The IR can be used to determine if a suspected water stain on any material is WET, or expose WET areas not seen by the naked eye. Although the suspected cause of the water stain should always be investigated, a WET stain places a sense of urgency in the matter as it poses the risk of further damage as well as mold growth!
Air Conditioning: Thermal Imaging can help measure air input/output temperatures with a great degree of accuracy compared to typical thermometers. A sweep of ducting and registers can locate many problems, such as disconnected ducting and registers.
Plumbing: Beyond measuring water temperature at fixtures, the IR camera can help detect leaking behind walls and under cabinets.
Electrical: Scans of electric panels and outlets with an IR camera can help find potentially overloaded or damaged electrical components in the home. Overheated circuit breakers are a safety and FIRE risk!
Insulation and Weather Stripping: Scanning the ceiling, doors and windows can uncover many areas of the home where heat and cold can transfer easily. Leaking around doors and windows can affect the energy consumption dramatically. Many times, we have found multiple areas in the ceiling where the insulation has been disturbed or removed from remodeling or not installed correctly when the home was built. Some areas will never be found visually from an attic inspection because of the tight spaces and safety of the inspector. IR scan of the home’s interior will locate all areas of the homes attic that have insulation deficiencies.
Here are a few examples of hidden deficiencies found by our team using IR technology:
*An A.C. register covered up by the drywall installers during the home’s construction. This home was 8 years old when the hidden vent was found in the kitchen area.
*A leaking pipe under the concrete floor was found using IR technology that could not be seen visually.
*Many roof leaks have been found in the ceilings that would have cost thousands of dollars in continued damaged but were corrected early.
*Many areas of disturbed insulation in the ceiling and walls.
We recommend the use of IR cameras at all home inspections. Not scanning the interior of the home increases the chance for hidden deficiencies to continue damaging components in the home. These deficiencies could potentially continue unnoticed for long periods of time causing thousands of dollars unnecessarily at the buyer’s expense.
At Kelting Inspections, we currently use the latest technology in IR imaging, so you can count on us to find hidden deficiencies that could go unnoticed during a visual only home inspection.
Be certain your home inspector scans your new home with an IR camera before purchase!
