Infrared Testing Illuminates Property Damage

A police chase at night ends safely because a helicopter with forward- looking infrared imaging system tracks the fleeing vehicle. Military forces use night-vision gear to see in the dark. Investigators at www.TheXRayForYourHome.com Find evidence of leaky pipes inside a building’s wall. All these scenarios are linked by the technology of Infrared imaging (IR), or thermal imaging.

Originally developed for night vision and other military uses, thermal imaging technology recently has become a standard in the Water damage restoration field.

To understand the techniques of thermography, it is useful t understand how light and electromagnetic energy travels. The great 17th century physicist, Isaac Newton, used a prism to split a beam of light into a rainbow, demonstrating that light is made up of individual colors, or wavelengths, of energy, known as the spectrum. When you see a rainbow, you see those individual colors: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue, indigo, violet.

Part of the spectrum are invisible to the human eye, however, such as wavelengths shorter than violet light ultraviolet (above violet) that cause sunburns. The part of the spectrum with a wavelength longer than red is the infrared (below red) light that thermal imaging technology uses.

Every object radiates infrared light in proportion to its temperature. Hot objects radiate more infrared light than cold objects, but human cannot see in those wavelengths. A person in a completely dark room containing a hot frying pan and a glass of ice water could not see either item. With a thermal imaging camera, however, both can be made to stand out from there surroundings because of their heat signature.

Infrared cameras make temperature differences visible, allowing observations of areas that, otherwise, would require more invasive and destructive testing. For example, water intrusion into the walls of a house can now be detected by the IR signature, without having to remove drywall from the interior walls and without having to make holes in the wall for old moisture probing techniques. The ability of the IR image to reveal wet areas in buildings and structures is a major help to investigators and drying contractors.

The National Infrared inspection is non-intrusive and requires no demolition of walls or ceiling. Using this report can reduce the time and effort necessary to inspect structures for water and mold damage.