Benefits of Infrared Thermography in Real Estate Inspections

Real estate inspections should be performed regularly to help keep problems at bay, especially those that can lead to major structural damage if overlooked. Thermographic inspections of real estate properties are efficient, accurate, and cost-effective methods used by maintenance experts. Thermographic inspections offer accurate results instantly, which save the time and effort of maintenance teams while helping property owners take immediate corrective measures.

A thermographic inspection uses temperature differences or anomalies to detect faults in the electrical installations, plumbing system, and insulation system of a building or house. Moreover, you can use it to detect water leakages, moisture infiltration, and cracks in the walls.

The benefits of using thermographic inspections are countless. Furthermore, it gives you the assurance that you have covered every aspect of fault detection. Before delving into the benefits of thermographic inspection, let us understand how it is conducted, how it works, and what type of benefits it can provide to real estate inspections.

The Science Behind Thermographic Inspections

Infrared imaging cameras are used to carry out various types of thermographic inspections, especially when it comes to real estate. All objects have thermal heat, although this depends upon the conditions of the surrounding area. These objects or electrical systems will emit heat when cold and absorb the heat when the outside conditions are hot or warm. All this thermal heat is emitted in the form of infrared rays.

This infrared radiation is then captured in the thermal cameras for reading the thermal heat of the object or the surface. The images captured are displayed on the camera screen as various colored images based upon their surface temperature or emission levels. The thermographic inspectors consider this temperature variation to detect faulty surfaces or objects. Moreover, this temperature variation provides them the real cause of the fault.

What are the Different Benefits of Using Thermographic Inspections in Real Estate?

As discussed earlier, a thermographic inspection of real estate properties involves inspecting the insulation system, electrical system, and plumbing system.

Let us discuss how thermographic inspection is used for fault detection and maintenance of each property system, along with specific benefits.

Insulation System

It is essential to insulate your home as it protects you from inclement and harsh environmental conditions.

HVAC systems installed in homes and buildings maintain comfortable temperatures indoors, irrespective of the weather outside. Thus, during the summer, your HVAC system will keep the interiors cold, and during the freezing winter season, the HVAC system will keep the interiors warm and cozy. However, if there’s a fault with the insulation system, your HVAC system most likely isn’t functioning correctly, leading to higher energy bills.

Over the past couple of decades, a thermographic inspection of buildings has made it possible to detect faults in the insulation system of buildings. Thermal imaging cameras can easily capture insulation leaks in buildings. Leaky spaces allow the warm air to escape from inside the building to outside. When these surfaces are inspected through the infrared imaging cameras, it displays the escaping air oozing out from inside as colored images.

Thus, it’s easier to detect and capture the images of the leaky surfaces through a thermographic inspection. This allows you to carry out specific repair work to the insulation system and prevent substantial energy bills. It also helps in maintaining an appropriate temperature inside the building throughout the year.

Plumbing Systems

The benefits of using thermographic inspection in plumbing systems are immense. The primary benefit that it offers is to find faulty leaks in the plumbing system in a home. After several years of use, these piping systems become vulnerable to wear and tear. It is also not unfair to mention that these water supply systems can get damaged because of various factors.

Infrared thermographic inspections help you to find leaky pipes, faucets, and other water supply systems. Thermographic inspections also help to find the temperature variables in the leaky pipes by comparing them with the outside temperature. Moreover, wet surfaces have an increased chance of absorbing more heat from the nearby area. If a wall develops a wet patch, it appears on the infrared camera as a warm image.

Another prime benefit of using thermographic inspections in plumbing systems is that it offers you easy access to pipes. It helps to read the temperatures of your piping systems, along with providing information about leaky pipes. It also helps you to find the exact layout of your home’s piping systems.

Electrical Systems

The electrical system of your house tends to develop various issues over time. Furthermore, these electrical systems become prone to damages, wear and tear, and many other problems.

To manage all these issues, we recommend an infrared inspection. Needless to say, that overheating is a major cause of all these problems. Infrared cameras are designed in such a way that they can capture these faulty connections—overheating, overloading, and corrosion in the electrical systems quickly. Moreover, the parts getting overheated are readily displayed on the camera screen for the inspector to read the measurements.

Electrical failures can cause serious risks and health hazards. Sometimes it goes to the extent of causing fire and explosion within the building. It is a difficult task for the homeowner to detect these faults through the naked eye. Another impressive benefit of using thermographic inspections is that these inspections are contactless. You don’t need to touch the dangerous switches, boards, or even major electrical components to detect the failures. You only need to put the infrared imaging cameras over the electrical object or surface to locate the problem. It will inform you about the exact thermal state of the object, along with the outside temperature. This lack of variable temperature indicates the component is facing trouble distributing current loading to the entire system.

Hence, it reduces the downtime, allowing you to rectify the problem during the early stages, saving you time and money.

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