Why You Should Have a Thermal Camera in Your Toolbox.
As I have moved through my career in this business, whether as a service technician, a building automation technician, energy auditor, or a commissioning agent, I sometime wonder how I performed by job without having a thermal imaging camera in my tool bag. Considering everything we do is heat transfer, there is no better way to visualize heat transfer than with thermal imaging.
When a thermal camera is brought into a situation, it is often as a last resort when all of our “trial and error” didn’t work. Considering how expensive some cameras are, most of us can relate to why we don't have one. I am not going to spend time comparing types of cameras, I will say that the technology is getting more affordable every day and their short return on investment is a no brainer.
See the case studies in this blog then come back and read the remainder of this entry.
During a recent conversation with a group of HVAC service technicians that I was providing training on thermal imaging, a question was asked of me. “Why do I need a thermal camera, I have an infrared thermometer. “
Without going into great detail about resolution and spot size ratio, I will try the following explaination:
An infrared thermometer is one pixel of temperature measurement. A 640 x 480 thermal camera has 307,200 pixels. Each pixel averages the temperatures within it. So at a distance of 12 ft, the typical infrared thermometer (distance to spot ratio 12:1 Images 1 and 2) will average temperatures within a radius of 1’.
Image 1: Infrared Thermometer
Image 2: Infrared Thermometer
The before mentioned typical 640 x 480 camera can measure a 1’ radius at approximately 330’. Whoa, much better.
In summary, the days of thermal imaging being a last resort are, and should, be over. We work and live in a world with energy moving to and from everything. Now more than ever, thermal imaging technology should be one of the first tools you buy.
The uses and benefits for thermal imaging are many, the excuses are few. Get one!!
