Uncover Hidden Problems with Home Testing & Thermal Imaging
Thermal imaging is a powerful diagnostic tool that helps identify areas in your home or building that give off heat and areas that are too cool. Bradley Mechanical performs home testing with thermal imaging to help diagnose excessive heat or cold entering your home. With our decades of experience, our trained and certified technicians have this unique and effective tool at our disposal.
The Benefits of Thermal Imaging
If a picture is worth a thousand words, then a good thermal image is worth a million. Since a thermal image is based on temperature, it will create a map of hot and cold areas. This can reveal issues within your home, such as:
- Wind washing. Thermal imaging can show wind washing occurring around eaves where cold or warm air is pushing through the insulation.
- Short-circuiting. Areas experiencing electrical faults will show up hotter and help us locate areas at risk of electrical fires.
- Mold and moisture. Hidden damage caused by mold and moisture will present as irregular changes in temperature.
- Pest infestation. Thermal imaging allows us to spot an animal or swarm of insects hidden behind your walls.
- Energy efficiency. Best of all, our thermal imaging experts can gain deeper insight into your home’s efficiency by inspecting the temperature of your appliances and equipment.
If you want to determine where excessive heat or cold is coming into your home, thermal imaging may be the answer.
Professional Thermal Imaging
Bradley Mechanical utilizes a wide range of home inspection tools, including thermal imaging. With over 50 years of experience, we not only use these tools with confidence but understand exactly what we’re looking at and how to help you solve whatever problem your home may be experiencing.
When we arrive, we’ll be looking for ideal conditions for thermal imaging. This means we’ll look for at least a 10–15-degree temperature difference between the inside and outside of your home. Thermal flaws, voids, bridging, and hot and cold spots can all be uncovered. Sometimes, a thermal gradient isn’t large enough to give a definitive picture. That is when our technicians use a blower door, which will exaggerate the drafts and increase the temperature difference. Using the camera with a blower door, one can’t see the heat loss or gain, but the leakage and streaking of hot and cold air. The thermal camera will also show wetted spots or hot spots in the electrical system when shorts are present, or bleeding occurs. These issues are often responsible for driving up temperatures in a room.
After thermal imaging is complete, your Bradley Mechanical technician will walk you through the findings and our best recommendations to resolve the issue.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does thermal imaging work?
Thermal guns use thermography which measures surface temperatures via infrared cameras. This technology translates heat into visible light – something we can’t see with our naked eye. This allows us to see heat energy, or the lack thereof, throughout your home.
How is thermal imaging used?
During a home inspection, thermal imaging is used to gain visibility into your home or building’s energy production. If an appliance or room displays as too warm or too cold, it can immediately tell us there’s a problem. This is a great tool during an initial home inspection as well as before and after new appliance installations and renovations.
Schedule a thermal image appointment with us.
