More About Aerial Infrared Imagery

Last week I wrote about a new trend in infrared imaging: aerial infrared scans. By scanning buildings from above, the entire picture of a complex can be seen.

This doesn't entirely eliminate the need for "boots on the ground," so to speak.  For example, in a building with a steam distribution system, you have to check boilers, lines and steam traps inside the buildings and steam tunnels from the ground.  On the other hand, the distribution and condensate return lines are best surveyed from the air. "The entire system can be flown, a mosaic thermal image produced and the areas with suspected problems can be pinpointed and documented. Owing to recent developments in infrared technology and the availability of high thermal sensitivity/high spatial resolution (large format) thermal imaging systems mounted on an aerial platform, the on-ground survey has become outdated."*

So how does it work? Well, it's very similar to how regular aerial photographs are made. A plane flies over a specified area with a camera mounted to the airframe and oriented looking straight-down to the ground (NADIR). The imagery is stored on a computer hard drive and later post-processed. Where aerial infrared thermography differs from aerial visible photography is the time of day when the survey occurs. IR aerial thermography is done at night to "see" sources of heat and the relative differences in heat from one object to another.

Here's a great link if you want to learn more - we will be offering aerial thermal imaging in North and South Carolina - let me know if you want to learn more!


Interested in learning more? Call me at 803-328-2889 and let’s talk!Edit Posts

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!

Schools and Universities - The Time to Use Infrared is Now

Earlier this month, I wrote about my concerns about mold and mildew in the roofing materials and insulation in schools. Thermal scans can accurately detect areas of water intrusion, helping to save costs on remediation. It's not just our public school system that's in trouble, though.

Universities, often buildings built decades ago (or in some cases, buildings that are hundreds of years old - Harvard, for example, was established 1636!), may be notoriously energy inefficient. Buildings may be sitting on top of steam lines that are old and crumbling. Roofs may be disintegrating in areas, leading to potentially dangerous environments. The costs of heating and cooling buildings that are, shall we say, less than energy efficient, can be mind-boggling.

A relatively new form of infrared thermography, aerial imagery, offers several advantages to university school systems.Because we can take high-angle, straight down infrared images, we can capture large images at once, so we can see all of the building and "hot spots" in context. So - although might sound super expensive, the infrared report is actually less expensive to produce and more accurate than if a thermographer spent days walking the campus. Call me if you want to learn more or if you'd like a quote on aerial infrared thermography!


Interested in learning more? Call me at 803-328-2889 and let’s talk!Edit Posts

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!

Infrared Thermography for Roofs Saves Millions

Whoa! Came across this article and thought I'd share - Chevron Texaco saved $5.6 million dollars by using infrared thermography on its roofs. That's right - $5.6 MILLION dollars - not a typo (although I've been known to do that too!)

Seems the company execs decided it was time to replace the roofs. George Horn, superintendent of operations and maintenance for ChevronTexaco Real Estate Management, thought the roofs did not need to be replaced. What did he do? He called in an infrared thermographer to do an infrared scan of the building roofs. The thermal roof scans showed that the roofs did NOT have to replaced.

Since then, Chevron Texaco has continued to use infrared thermography as part of its ongoing building maintenance programs. Read the whole story here!

Interested in learning more? Call me at 803-328-2889 and let’s talk!Edit Posts

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!

Mold Remediation - EPA Guidelines

Did you know that one of the major problems facing our educational system today is "sick schools"? I was a little shocked to learn that the average age of most school buildings is 42 years old! Alot of our schools are using those portable classrooms - about 600,000 of them across the United States.*

The age of our schools and the liberal use of portable classrooms is having an unintended effect - major mold infestations as moisture leaks through roofs and walls. Now, I have grandchildren in school, it is really worrying to think they could be exposed to the health risks that major mold exposure can cause. What can be done?

The EPA has a great set of mold remediation guidelines. Notice what steps 3 and 5 are, respectively:

Assess size of mold problem and note type of mold-damaged materials.
Identify source or cause of water or moisture problem.

I've written alot about how the source of water leaks and moisture is usually NOT where the water seeps through. The same is true of mold (both the mold you can see and the mold you can't see!) - especially since mold grows and spreads as it feeds off moisture. Fixing the visible problem may not fix the ACTUAL problem.

A thermal scan using infrared thermography can identify the source of the water leak/moisture and it can also find insulation, wet drywall and other areas that you may not be able to see that may be harboring mildew that your children and grandchildren could be breathing as they study. Isn't it time to see when or if your child's school has had an infrared scan?

*Stats from the National Clearinghouse for Educational Facilities.

Interested in learning more? Call me at 803-328-2889 and let’s talk!

IR Infrared Services provides top quality thermographic service at a competitive price to commercial users in North Carolina and South Carolina. For more information, visit http://www.irinfraredservices.com/ or follow us on Twitter: www.twitter.com/infraredscans. We are proud to offer the very best thermography services in North Carolina and South Carolina!