All summer long, we assure people that our infrared cameras are sensitive enough to pick up even a few degree difference. We stand by that, but there's no doubt about it: arctic weather makes for some pretty dramatic infrared thermography.
That's because IR cameras detect the infrared radiation emitted by all objects. Since the amount of infrared radiation increases with temperature, thermography lets us see temperature differences. The bigger the temperature difference, the prettier the picture.
Take this picture. It's a house - not a rocket ship about to take off - and it's losing tons of heat through the uninsulated foundation rim joists. That's one of the most common areas of heat loss, so our Energy Advisors could probably guess as much, but the IR image proves it.
How? In an infrared picture, warmer areas appear yellow and colder areas – where insulation is missing or air leaks are gaping – appear purple to black. Here, heat is pouring out through the foundation and windows into the cold, purple outdoors.
Ceiling joints, uninsulated walls, and gaps around doors and windows are also common areas for heat loss, but each home is unique. The best way to find out where your home is wasting energy is to schedule a FREE energy consult with infrared analysis. When you know where energy is being wasted, you can customize an energy efficiency solution.