Infrared Thermography

[John Snell]

I'm looking forward to presenting an all-day, pre-conference session in Atlanta this month titled "IR101: the Basics of Infrared Thermography for Home Inspectors". The course is designed for people who want to begin using the technology as well as folks who already are using it. We'll cover the basics of selecting an imaging system (I don't sell them and am brand neutral!), basic imager adjustments, and all the applications for using imagers in residential and small commercial buildings.

I've been at this almost 30 years and am happy to share my experiences with you. There has never been a better time to jump into this amazing technology.

I'll be bringing several imagers along that you are welcome to try and, of course, several of the exhibitors will have additional systems they'd love for you to look at!

See InspectionWorld Atlanta | January 25-28, 2011 (http://www.ashi.org/inspectionworld/04infrared.html) for details.
Class size is limited to 20 so, if you are interested, I hope you will register early.

Thinking Thermally,
John Snell
The Snell Group | Infrared Thermography and Motor Circuit Analysis Training, Consulting, and Services (http://www.thesnellgroup.com)
IRTalk.com (http://IRTalk.com)
800-636-9820

[Linas Dapkus]

Thanks John. For those of you interested in infrared thermography, John is the man to talk to. Don't just go out and buy a cheap imager thinking you are going to get rich quick. It may not be your cup of tea!!.

[John Snell]

Thanks Linas. I don't know any RICH thermographers! I do know many who have provided valuable services to their customers and many who have also added thermal imaging to a menu of existing, complementary services.

As far as imagers go, there are a wide variety available with a range of features and prices. I'll certainly talk about what is essential for buildings work and what system just won't do the job. I encourage folks to look at this simply as an investment: what returns do you want and what can you expect?

My "cup of tea," as you know, is just making sure folks get started in the right direction toward being successful.

[Ken Bates]

It's just measuring the temperature of visible surfaces.

Does not measure temperatures below the surface.

Inferences by extrapolations are not defensible.

[John Snell]

It's just measuring the temperature of visible surfaces.

Does not measure temperatures below the surface.

Inferences by extrapolations are not defensible.

In nearly all cases materials are opaque to the longwave infrared radiation (8-12 microns) we are viewing with imaging systems. Even glass! So we are seeing the SURFACE temperature only which is, of course, typically influenced by the internal temperatures and structures as well as the external environment.

Inference of internal temperature or heat transfer is, in fact, quite defensible if you want to do the "heavy lifting" of modeling and testing. The tiles on the shuttle orbiters are inspected based on that. Looking for missing insulation or interstitial air movement in a home is based on similar inferences. The attached shows the affect of air leakage on a wall surface (dark areas are colder). It works as long as we respect the limitations within which we are working.

Interestingly, materials that are semi-transparent to infrared radiation (some plastics for example), are even more challenging to measure because we don't know where in the depth of the materials we are measuring!

We did, by the way, have a great turnout at the conference. Lots of good questions and sharing of experience. We hope to return next year!

Thermally yours,
John
The Snell Group | Infrared Thermography and Motor Circuit Analysis Training, Consulting, and Services (http://www.thesnellgroup.com)
IRTalk.com (http://www.IRTalk.com)