Booklet Building En

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An Informative Guide for the Use of Infrared in the Building Industry

Infrared GuIdebook forbuIldInG applIcatIons


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Content page

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This booklet is produced in close cooperation with the Inrared Training Centre (ITC).

SPECIFICATIONS ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE WITHOUT NOTICE

Copyright 2009, FLIR Systems AB. All other brand and product names are trademarks o their respective owners.


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Introduction

Since the 1970s we have become increasingly conscious that

energy resources are precious and limited.

The building sector accounts or 40% o the EUs energy

requirements and oers the largest single potential or energy

efciency. Due to the huge potential the European commission

has ormed a directive or energy perormance regulation o

buildings on which many national laws are already based.

Thousands o European businesses are already aected whilethe Energy Perormance Certifcates (EPCs) has become

mandatory in many countries in EU or new buildings and large

building reurbishments.

This, together with recent economic stimulus packages in many

countries, is likely to drive the demand or Air tightness testing

and other methods or investigation energy efciency.

In a longer perspective we are likely to see harsher EU

directives or energy savings in buildings exemplifed by presentdiscussions about Passive House technology to become

standard within the EU. This will have great impact on many

proessionals working in the building sector.

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The use o an inrared camera alone or in combination with

other methods, or instance Blower Door, speeds up the work

considerably. Inrared pinpoints exactly where the energy lossesare without the use o any destructive testing.

Thermography is the unique tool to map the energy loss rom

a building. The method is quick and the IR images along with

the IR reports which the camera produces are a precise and

convincing argumentation.

This booklet is an in-depth guide or inspections in buildings with

thermography. There are many details to pay attention to when

carrying out an inrared inspection. As well as knowing how theinrared camera works and how to take images, it is important to

know the physics around a building, and how it is constructed.

All o this has to be taken into consideration to understand,

interpret and judge inrared images correctly.

All principles, concepts and use o systems or analysis o

building applications cannot be covered in this guidebook;

however there are training courses with ITC (Inrared Training

Centre) specifcally designed or building applications.

The guidebook will present

Inrared applications within the building sector

How the inrared camera works and what to consider when

purchasing a camera

What to consider when taking images

Sotware or creating proessional reports

Customerapplicationstoriesfromtheeld

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1. The Infrared Cameraand how it Works

An inrared camera does not see temperatures, it records the

intensity o radiation in the inrared area. This is radiation which is

not visible to the human eye.

The camera converts inrared radiation to a visible image. The

images are presented in a grayscale or with dierent pallets to

make it easier to look at. While the human eye can see radiation

in the electromagnetic spectrum within 0,4 - 0,7 m, the inrared

area goes rom 0,9 - 14 m. The cameras used or building

inspection work within the area 8 - 14 m.

There is a context between electromagnetic radiation and

temperature. That is given in the Stephan-Boltzmanns law:

W = T4

W = Intensity o radiation

= Stephan-Boltzmanns constant = 5,67 10-8 W/(mK4)

T = the temperature measured in Kelvin.

By the help o this ormula the camera not only sees radiation

rom a surace, but it can also calculate the temperature on a

surace.

To make inrared images taken o suraces easier to understand,

it is possible to present a digital photo together with the inrared

image. This shows the user exactly where the IR image was

taken and what it is able to see. Inrared is the perect tool or

building diagnostics.

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2.Infrared Thermography for theBuilding Industry

Inrared (IR) inspection is a powerul and non invasive means

o monitoring and diagnosing the condition o buildings. An

IR camera can identiy problems early, allowing them to be

documented and corrected beore becoming more serious and

more costly to repair.

An inrared inspection within building diagnostics help:

Visualizeenergylosses

DetectmissingordefectiveInsulation

Sourceairleaks

Findmoistureintheinsulation,inroofandwalls,both

internal and outside

Detectmoldandbadlyinsulatedareas

Locatethermalbridges

Locateleaksinatroofs

Detectbreachonhot-waterpipe

Detectconstructionfailures

Locateradiantoorheatingfaults Monitorthedryingofbuildings

Detectelectricalfaults

Findfaultsinsupplylineanddistrictheating

Plusmuch,muchmore!

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Interpretation of Images for Building Applications

Detecting Poor Insulation and Air Leaks

Inrared thermography (thermal imaging) is an outstandingtool to locate building deects such as missing insulation,

delaminating render, condensation problems and see energy

loss.Thermographyalsohelpsassessatroofsfordamaged

insulation and trapped moisture.

This building is warmer on the inside. It is a sandwich construction, concrete - insulation

- concrete. One section o insulation is missing which is not possible to see visually

either rom the inside or the outside. Here inrared can see what the human eye cant.

Framework construction. Many o the sections are missing insulation as indicated

by the warmer colors.

Glass roo above an atrium. It is watertight, but not air tight. Warm air

goes out because o the over pressure and cold air is coming in at the

oor in the caeteria. The solution is to air tighten the glass roo.

Bigger ofce buildings oten have an atrium in the middle. These

atriumsoftenhaveacafeteriaattheoorandaglassroofaboveto let the sunshine in.

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Insulation Deects

The typical thickness o the insulation varies rom country

to country. In cold climates the insulation usually is thick. In

countries with warmer temperate climates there is less thickness

or nothing at all. On the other hand, in warmer climates cooling

inside is oten used which calls or thick insulation to take care

o the energy. Using an IR camera the rule o thumb is that it

should be at least 10 C temperature dierence between outside

and inside temperature the sides o the wall to get good, easy to

see patterns. Using a camera with higher resolution and thermalsensitivity, the temperature dierence can be less.

Large warehouses with well insulated preabricated walls and roo

can experience energy loss rom the joints between these parts.

A warehouse with a lot o warm air coming out between the wall and the roo.

These joints should be tightened to stop the big energy loss.

Missing insulation in parts o the wall.

Thermal survey rom outside, the red

areas represent poor or missing insulation.

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Detection o Air Leaks

It is not unusual to fnd air leaks through the envelope o a

building. An air leak leads to higher energy consumption, oten

causing problems with the ventilation system, as well as causing

condensation in the construction which makes the indoor climate

poor. 90% o air leaks are caused by the deect in the climate shel.

To detect air leaks with an inrared camera a temperature

dierence and a pressure dierence over the construction is

needed. The air itsel is not possible to see. With an inrared

camera however, you detect the characteristic patterns that

occur when cold air is coming through a leak in the construction

- goes along a surace and cools it down. The inrared inspectionshould always take place on the side o the construction with

negative pressure.

Image shows air leaks between the ceiling and the window, taken with negative

pressure inside.

The inrared image clearly shows insufcient insulation in wall above window.

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Moisture Detection

Moisturedamageisthemostcommonformofdeterioration

or a house. Air leakage can cause condensation to orm within

walls,oors,orceilingsandwetinsulationtakesalongtimetodry and becomes a prime location or molds and ungi.

Scanning with an inrared camera can locate moisture that

creates an environment conducive to molds - locations that

may never be seen with the human eye. One might smell its

presence, but not know where it is orming. An inrared survey

will determine where inherently moist areas are located that

promote potentially serious mold and health problems.

Moisturecanbedifculttospotandthetrickistomakethe

constructionchangetemperature.Materialswithmoisturewillthen

be clearly visible as they change temperature much slower than drymaterials. Where other methods only measure the temperature in

one point, inrared covers huge suraces in an instant.

Inrared images taken o the same ceiling. In let image the room temperature has

been changed by heating which makes the moisture in the insulation appear clearly.

Moisture intrusion in oor, impossible to see with the human eye, but clearly visible

in inrared.

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Thermal Bridges

A thermal bridge is an area with less insulation due to the

construction; such as a metal astener, concrete beam, slab or

column.Heatwillowtheeasiestpathfromtheheatedspacetotheoutside-thepathwithleastresistance.Veryoftenheat

will "short circuit" through an element which has a much higher

conductivity than surrounding material, which can be described

as a thermal bridge.

Typical eects o thermal bridges are:

Decreased interior surace temperatures; in the worst cases

this can result condensation problems, particularly at corners.

Signicantlyincreasedheatlosses. Coldareasinbuildings.

The image shows a thermal bridge at one o the oors.

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Supply Lines and District Heating

In cold climates heating o pavements and gangways are used.

It is also common with district heating, a system or distributing

heat generated in a centralized location or residential and

commercial heating requirements.

A thermographic survey can easily detect any deects in heating

systems under ground. Even i there is snow on the ground, the

heating pipe lines are visible with an inrared camera.

Heated pavement, but only a part o it is working.

Here, the bridging is between the roo beams and the adjacent wall.

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Finding Leaks in Roos

Tremendous savings result when wet areas o a roo can be

repaired rather than replacing the whole roo.

By using the sun as a heater it is possible to fnd wet insulation

in a roo with an inrared camera. During the day the sun is

heating the roo. At night time the roo cools down again, but

much slower where there is wet insulation. This area is clearly

visible and indicated as warmer in an inrared image.

The buildings with yellow colored roos show there is a moisture or insulation problem.

An aerial IR photo has identifed leaks or insulation ailure in the district heating system

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Electrical Faults

One o the most common aults in buildings are electrical aults.

Mostofthetimetheseelectricalproblemsareinvisibletothe

naked eye, but an inrared camera instantly makes hot spots

visible on a thermal image. You can scan electrical cabinets,

components and survey multiple wires, connections and get

an instant picture o potential trouble. The problem area can be

detectedandrepairedbeforerealproblemsoccur!Common

electrical targets in the building industry are uses, electrical

panels, and lighting.

One o the uses is over-heated, a potential fre risk.

Locating Leaks in Floor Heating

Inrared is an easy-to-use tool to fnd and check pipes and tubes

forleaks,evenwhenthewaterpipesarelaidintheoororunder

plaster. The heat o the pipes radiates through the surace and

the pattern can be easily detected with an inrared camera.

The image above shows a water leak rom a hot water pipe in the oor heating.

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Distribution o hot water.

Smell

Inrared has proved useul to fnd leaks between houses. Leaksbetween houses lead to poorer sound insulation as well as

the smell o cigarettes and other unpleasant odors. By using

negative pressure together with a temperature dierence its

easy to detect the leaks.

Warm air coming in at the base board rom the next door neighbor.

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Cold Storage Plant

Cold storage plant and cold storage chambers have a great

requirement to insulation and tightness. Ordinary indoor

temperature at a cold storage plant is -23 C to -25 C. Lacko insulation and leakages causes condensation and ice in the

construction, which creates the need or more energy - and ice

will eventually destroy the construction.

Image to the let shows air leaks in the connection between the wall and roo

leading to a big temperature dierence. The image to the right shows a cold bridge

between wall and roo.

Redevelopment Planning & Quality Assurance

Inrared technology is used during redevelopment planning, but

also in quality assurance and the inspection o new buildings.

During construction-drying, inrared images make it possible

to determine the progress o the drying procedures so that

necessary measures can be taken to speed up the drying

process.

I this process can be accelerated and it can be proven, with the

help o an inrared camera, that the construction is totally dry,

the building can be surrendered aster to the client.

Building Renovations

Inrared thermography provides valuable inormation during

the renovation o buildings and monuments. Framework

constructions hidden by mineral plaster can become clearly

visible in an inrared image. It can then be decided whether

exposure o these structures is useul. The detachment o plaster

rom walls can also be located in a very early stage so that

preservation measures can be taken.

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3. Building Physics

In order to interpret the inrared images in the correct way you also

needtoknowhowdifferentmaterialsandstructuresinuencethe

temperature readings on the surace. Some o the most important

factorsinuencingthesurfacetemperatureandpatternare:

1. Type o materials used in the construction

Some materials, or ex. concrete, are thermally slow which mean

they change temperature very slowly. Other materials, like most

metals, change temperature quickly. In order to interpret the results

correctly, the thermographer has to know i there has been any big

temperature change outside or inside close beore the inspectiontakes place as this can aect the temperature readings.

2. How the construction is built

An outer wall can be built with an air gap between the outer skin

and the rest o the construction. Such type o construction is not

suitable or control rom the outside. Any ramework in the wall

construction becomes colder seen rom the inside (provided its

warmer inside). From the cold side it is the opposite situation.

These are expected characteristic patterns and there is nothing

wrong.

IR-image taken rom the inside. The ramework is visible, and so are the screws

ftting the sheet covering to the ramework. The corner is clearly colder, called acorner-eect, but there is nothing wrong here.

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3. Indoor- and outdoor temperatures

Missing,damagedornon-performinginsulationwillstand

out clearly in a thermal image when there is at least a 10 C

stable temperature dierence between the two sides o thewall. It is oten possible to do work with less o a temperature

dierence depending on the thermal capacitance o the building

materials. The inspection is typically done rom both the inside

and the outside. The best results are oten gained rom the

insidebecauseoffewerinuences,butforabetteroverall

understanding o the building a complementary thermal survey

rom the outside is recommended.

The user should know the indoor- and outdoor temperature and

also needs to know i there have been big temperature changesduring the last 24 hours.

4. Pressure dierence over the construction makes air leaks

visible

Differenceinpressureovertheconstructionmakesairow

rom one side to the other i there is a leak in the construction.

High pressure dierence causes high speed and i there is

no pressure dierence, no air moves through a leak and the

construction looks tight.

The inrared camera does not see the air itsel but shows areas

thathavebeencooleddownbytheairow.Thecharacteristic

pattern (see example below) is shown in the image on which

conclusions can be drawn.

The image shows air-leaks at the base board.

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5. Inuence on the outside

Sunshine and shadows might give very special patterns on a

surace and can be seen many hours ater the radiation rom the

sun has ended. How many hours ater depends on the materialsin the construction. It should not be mixed up with patterns

generated by heat transer in the inspected construction. As an

example, brick changes temperature much slower than wood.

Wind has an indistinct eect and leads to less temperature

dierences on the surace compared to when there is no wind.

Precipitation as rain makes a surace wet and cools down the

surace. When drying it leads to evaporation which in turn cools

down the surace. Obviously this can produce a misleading

pattern and needs to be taken into account.

6. Inuence on the insideAheaterheatsthesurroundingsurface.Ventilationairmight

strike a surace and heat or cool it locally. Bookshel, cabinet

and pictures hanging on the wall have an insulating eect. I

these things are taken away rom the wall, a colder pattern

shows behind.

These two images are taken o the same wall. The temperature outside is colder

than inside. The image to the right shows what can happen when you take away a

picture rom the wall. The temperature is colder behind the pictures and becausethe picture has a size the same as between two studs in the wall, it looks like some

insulation is missing in the wall. The example shows that it is important to move

things away rom the wall at least 6 hours beore an inrared inspection.

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7. Reections rom the surroundings

Whenscanningreectivetargets,besuretochangeyourangle

toeliminatethereectionsontheimage.Thereectioncould

be rom your body heat, or some other heat source in the area,apieceofmachinery,lightbulboratransformer.Reections

will give you incorrect data in the thermal image, and i not

understood, it is a data error.

The image shows reections on an inner wall (to the right) rom the window to the

let.

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4. Finding the Best Solution for You

Basically fve important requirements are important to evaluate

when investigating a suitable combination o camera, sotware

and training:

1) Camera resolution

2) Camera sensitivity

3) Added extra unctions in the camera

4) Sotware requirements

5) Training demands

1. Camera ResolutionThe more proessional cameras will normally oer a resolution

ranging rom 320 x 240 up to 640 x 480 pixels. 640 x 480

pixels is more and more becoming a standard requirement or

proessional thermographers. The reasons or this are amongst

others:

A: Higher resolution provides better temperature accuracy

and sees even small details at a distance

A camera with 640 x 480 pixels has 307 200 measurement

points in one image which is our times more than a camera with320 x 240 pixels and 76 800 measurement points. Not only will

the measurment accuracy be better or the higher resolution, but

also there is a huge dierence in the image quality.

The increased number o pixels will result in a much clearer

picture where small details are clearly visible but also means the

temperature measurements will be much more accurate. This

will o course be very important when pinpointing exactly where

the hot spots are and how urgent/dangerous the problem is. A

nice, sharp and clear image has a higher value increasing the

users credability. It is easier to interprete and understand and

identiy the inspected object.

Image by 640 x 480 pixels Image by 140 x 140 pixels

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B: Higher resolution means you need to take fewer images

With a higher resolution camera you can cover a larger object

with only one image. With lower resolution more images are

needed to cover the same area with the same level o details.With a 640 x 480 pixel camera equipped with at 45 degree lens,

a wall area o about 4 m x 3 m can be inspected at 5 meter

distance with only one image. To inspect the same wall with

a 320 x 240 camera, also with a 45 degree lens, our images

on hal the distance are required. Using a 640 x 480 camera

represents a major increase in efciency as not only ewer

images need to be captured in the feld, but also during the

documentation phase.

2. Thermal Sensitivity

High camera sensitivity is particularly important or building

applications where temperature dierences are typically lower.

Higher sensitivity is needed to capture more detailed images and

thus better diagnoses or urther actions.

The higher the sensitivity the better the camera is to capture the

fnest image details even at low temperature dierences.

65 mK sensitivity 45 mK sensitivity

640 x 480 pixels

One IR image needed

320 x 240 pixels

Four IR images needed at hal thedistance

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3. Added Extra Camera Functions

As a rule o thumb, the more advanced an inrared camera is the

more special unctions are included. The less advanced carry alimited number o extra unctions thought to be adequate or the

users purpose.

Almost all proessional cameras and also some less advanced

cameras have a built-in digital camera. Proessional cameras also

have a Thermal Fusion and Picture-in-Picture unctionality which

merges visual and inrared images to oer better analysis and

reporting.

Above show the dierences in IR images taken rom the inside

o a house - with dierent camera sensitivity.

The less advanced cameras have lower resolution and normallyrange rom 80 x 80 up to 320 x 240 pixels. They give good

inormation when you perorm less advanced inspections and

work as an excellent hand tool. They are compact, easy to use,

take images that are good enough, and give the possibility to

measure temperature and to save images.

Picture-in-Picture allows a clear overview

o this high voltage installation.

Thermal image

Visual image

Thermal Fusion Image

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Some o the most advanced models have eatures as GPS

or tagging the inrared image to its geographic location, and

tiltable viewfnder, a necessary eature or outdoor use as it

showsaverysharpimagewithoutinuenceofambientlightandreections.

I you work a lot out in the felds, it is handy to have a multi-

unction camera. It means less equipment to take care o and

makes the user more eective.

Relative humidity alarm and insulation alarm

Proessional cameras include building specifc alarm unctions

that are particularly useul in building applications; relative

humidity alarm and insulation alarm. The relative humidity alarmalerts you to the areas where there is a risk o condensation. In

the image below the area at risk is indicated as blue color.

The insulation alarm shows where the areas below or above a

set temperature are by making them appear in a dierent color.

In the image below the temperature is set to 17.5 C and all areas

below are clearly marked in green.

The image shows reections on an inner wall (to the right) rom the window to the

let.

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Interchangeable optics

The more advanced inrared cameras have interchangeable

optics or wider feld o view.

Reporting

The ability o presenting results rom an inrared inspection isan important part o the inspection. All FLIR cameras come with

basic reporting sotware, FLIR QuickReport, which makes it easy

to work with the images aterward and put them together in a

readymade report template.

The more proessional cameras carry more eatures making

reporting even better and more efcient when out in the feld.

Mostofthesecamerasofferpossibilitiesofinputtingbothtext-

and voice comments, either directly or via a PDA as a part o the

image. The inrared and digital images are linked together and

are automatically presented side by side in a report.

The need o efcient reporting is o great importance and the

multi-unction cameras with higher camera resolution and

detector sensitivity are important to produce the best quality in

images and temperature readings.

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4. Sotware Requirements

Analyzing inrared images and reporting the results o inrared

inspections are important everyday tasks or any proessional

thermographer. Depending on your image analysis and reportingrequirements, a set o available sotware will support you:

FLIR BuildIR

The FLIR BuildIR sotware works together with an inrared

camera to visualize and quantiy building related problems like

air infltration, insulation deects, thermal bridges and moisture

problems in a proessional report. With new and unique eatures

it also enables quantiying and estimating the cost o the energy

losses.

The sotware includes an Image Editor or advanced analysis o

the inrared image, a Panorama tool and a Sensor tool or making

graphs o the conditions during the inspection. The Panorama

unctionality allows stitching several images together into one

big image as well as crop and perspective corrections. Other

highlights include a Grid/Area Quantiying unction, Energy Cost

Estimation Calculator and customizable templates or building

related reports.

FLIR Reporter

FLIR Reporter is a sotware or advanced image analysis and

creation o proessional reports. The sotware supports advanced

camera unctions such as; interval and blending usion, Picture-

in-Picture, Panorama and Trending, the ability to track thermal

inormation o inrared surveys to help with predictive and

preventive maintenance plans.

Reporter also supports IR cameras with built-in GPS capability.

It allows users to easily add maps, directions, longitude andlatitudereadingstoreports.FLIRReporterisMicrosoftWord

based, which makes it intuitive and easy or users to create

reports using spell check, ormatting, and the templates

customized or the FLIR reporting application. Other advanced

eatures include digital zoom, color palette changes, play back o

voice comments recorded in the feld, and automatic conversion

o reports to Adobe .pd ormat.

5. Training Demands

FLIR cooperates with Inrared Training Center (ITC), anindependent, ISO certifed, worldwide training acility. ITC oers

everything rom short introduction courses to certifcation

courses. For more inormation, visit www.inraredtraining.com.

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5. How to Carry out aThermographic Inspection

A thermographic inspection is either an interior and/or exterior

survey. The energy auditor decides which method would give

the best results under certain weather conditions. Interior scans

are more common, because warm air escaping rom a building

does not always move through the walls in a straight line. Heat

loss detected in one area o the outside wall might originate at

some other location on the inside o the wall. Also, it is harder

to detect temperature dierences on the outside surace o the

building during windy weather. Because o this difculty, interior

surveys are generally more accurate because they beneft rom

reduced air movement.

The principal when carrying out a thermographic survey is the

same whether its a amily house or industrial building.

1. Defne the Task

Start the assignment by interviewing the homeowner about the

conditions o the building. In this particular case well investigate

a townhouse, where energy usage has been reported to be toohigh. The homeowner tells us that its cold inside, especially

when its windy and especially one room is cold, irrespective o

wind outside.

2. Start rom the Outside

Startthethermographicinspectionfromtheoutside.Missing

insulation or cold bridges can quickly be located rom here.

It is important to snap some images also rom areas where

conditions seem to be ok. It will allow comparing the result with

images that show aults, to evaluate the extent o the dierentproblems ound.

3. Set up a Blower Door Test

Thermographic scans are commonly used with a blower door

test running. The blower door helps exaggerate air leaking

through deects in the building shell. Air leaks appear as black

streaks in the inrared camera's viewfnder.

A blower door system includes three components: a calibrated

fan,adoorpanelsystem,andadevicetomeasurefanowand

building pressure. The blower door an is temporarily sealed into

an exterior doorway using the door panel system. The an is

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used to blow air into or out o the building, which creates a small

pressure dierence between inside and outside. This pressure

dierence orces air through all holes and penetrations in the

building enclosure. The tighter the building (e.g. ewer holes), theless air is needed rom the blower door an to create a change in

building pressure.

A thermographic inspection should always be carried out under

negative pressure. With the blower door we create a negative

pressure inside o 50 Pa. The blower door test clearly shows that

the house leaks about 50% more than regulations allow. Next

step is to fnd the leakages and other problem areas.

The blower door equipment is normally installed in the entrance door.

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4. Thermal Scanning o the Interior

To prepare or the interior thermal scan, the inspector should

take steps to ensure an accurate result. This may include moving

urniture away rom exterior walls and removing drapes. Themost accurate thermographic images usually occur when there

is a large temperature dierence (at least 10C) between inside

and outside air temperatures.

Now we start scanning every room in the house with the

inrared camera. When taking images be very accurate about

whereitwastaken.Agoodideaistomarkwitharrowsonaoor

plan rom what angles the thermal images are taken.

5. Analysis and ReportingWhen all rooms have been inspected it is time to return to the

ofce to do the analysis o the images and to summarize the

fndings in a report. Analysis and reporting is carried out using

the sotware FLIR BuildIR.

Below are two examples o aults located in the townhouse and

part o the reason why the house is cold and energy inefcient:

The image to the let shows air leaks between the door lea and threshold. The

pattern is characteristic. The image to the right shows air leaks along the cornice

and very bad insulation in the ceiling.

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6. Standards

The current European standard or thermal imaging o building

abric is 13187. Thermal perormance o buildings. Qualitative

detection o thermal irregularities in building envelopes, inrared

method (ISO 6781: 1983 modifed).

There is also a standard or Blower Door testing, commonly used

in conjunction with a thermographic survey; 13829. Thermal

perormance o buildings. Determination o air permeability o

buildings. Fan pressurization method(ISO 9972: 1996, modifed).

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7. Application Stories

Read how our customers are using FLIR inrared cameras or

building diagnostics and energy auditing purposes:

HeatSeeker Vehicles Scan UK Homes or Poor

Insulation

Inrared specialist UK-based Thermascan has designed

mobile Heat-Seeker vehicles assessed to scan the insulation

condition or houses.

Operating at night and during the heating season, the multi-

technology imaging system determines the address o each

property and produces an energy efciency verdict which is

attached to a thermal image.

This cutting-edge system is equipped with high caliber thermal

camera, the FLIR SC620 that is able to record images as the

vehicletravelsatbetween1015mph.Vitaltothisapplication

is the cameras Firewire digital output enabling us to conduct real-

time analysis o the property images, explains system designerDave Blain. It also has a 640 x 480 detector that provides the

high resolution we need to capture as much detail as possible. We

can survey up to 5,000 properties in a single evening shit, Dave

Blain continues. And at the end o it the system automatically

categorizes the results according to the insulation need.

The image shows reections on an inner wall (to the right) rom the window to the let.

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FLIR B-Series IR camera Optimizes Passive

Housing Construction

As energy prices soar, the market or low-energy house

building is becoming promising all over Europe. AIROPTIMA

is using inrared cameras to check the building substance

and air circulation during and ater the construction phase.

Passive houses have to be planned and constructed with care.

The building process has to be monitored very closely says

MarkusMeyer,ownerofAIROPTIMA,abuildingconsulting

companyspecializedinHVACissuesforresidentialbuildingsand

in particular eco houses. An inrared camera combined withthe blower door procedure is a perect instrument to detect

temperature dierences in a non-contact and non-destructive

way. These temperature dierences are prime indicators o

building construction aults, warm bridges or air leaks.

MeyerusesaFLIRB360whichhasspecicmeasurement

eatures or building applications to inspect the construction ater

each building stage and ater ull completion o the house. He

oten uses the cameras humidity and insulation alarm unctions

as well as its Picture-in-Picture unctionality. His reports or

building owners, architects or energy consultants are made

with the FLIR Reporter sotware and contain advice on which

appliances to use in order to optimize the houses heating and

ventilation.

Inrared image shows insulation

quality o a low energy house

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Inrared Camera Tells Truth about Walls and

Facades

Building insulation quality becomes a pressing issue as heating

costs increases. An infrared camera for building applications and

the experts eye can do a lot to save on energy. Buchstaller in

Germany is a company specialized in water damage assessment

and thermographic inspection residential buildings.

Buildingandoorleakinspectionsareourmainapplications,

says Gnther Buchstaller, a master bricklayer and plasterer. In

addition, the camera provides support in showing Buchstaller

orhisbusinesspartnerMartinGastagerwherenottodrillwhendoing leak surveys or water damage assessments, an asset in a

regionwhereoorheatingiscommon.

Buchstaller has chosen the FLIR B360 inrared camera: The

cameras screen size is important, not only or our user comort,

but also or the customer who fnds the technology quite

impressive, the tiltable lens unit is very handy and the cameras

weight makes working very easy.

Skyrocketing heating costs and an aordable technology areopening up new market and service perspectives or building

proessionals. Buchstaller says he expects to amortize his

inrared camera within two years.

Examples o inefcient piping insulation between kitchen and bathroom

Bad insulation above balcony window

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FLIR Systems AB (head oce)

Sweden

World Wide Thermography Center

+46 (0)8 753 25 00

[email protected]

FLIR Systems Ltd.

United Kingdom

+44 (0)1732 220 011

[email protected]

FLIR Systems S.r.l.

Italy

+39 (0)2 99 45 10 01

[email protected]

FLIR Systems GmbHGermany

+49 (0)69 95 00 900

[email protected]

FLIR Systems SarlFrance

+33 (0)1 41 33 97 97

[email protected]

FLIR Systems ABBelgium

+32 (0)3 287 87 10

[email protected]

Whats your application?What kind of infrared camerais best for your needs?

To speak to an inrared camera expert,

please contact:

Documents

Booklet Building En