Many Home Inspectors are offering their ‘complete IR services with their Home Inspections.
Let's look a bit at what an infrared camera is, what it can do, some limitations and what is required to actually perform a proper inspection of any value.
What is an infrared camera?
The media, partially through reality television, has promoted the use of infrared cameras in home inspections and their benefits. While some of this is accurate, keep in mind that television programs focus on entertainment and not fact, because of this there are some misconceptions many have gained by all the hype.
You may have heard that Infrared cameras can see through walls, see water, mold, termites, bees in walls, missing insulation, problems with electrical wiring and maybe more.
The fact is that an infrared camera can not detect water, nor mold or even missing insulation!
At best an infrared camera in a Home Inspection is nothing more than a diagnostic tool, which are known to have several limitations in their use. An infrared camera can not see inside or through any wall or other material, they can not see water or mold or missing insulation. All an infrared camera can in fact see is the emission of infrared energy, which they translate into surface temperatures. However, even that is not straight forward, and there are many reasons why the information displayed may be misleading or downright wrong.
If interested in Infrared services; choose the Inspector with Caution!
Or at least know what your expectations are and what you are getting.
Because infrared cameras only display specific information, and because there are factors that can mislead the user, it is absolutely necessary to have proper training and education.
To become properly trained in using an infrared camera, there are several paths. The simplest to being, but by no means provides necessary qualifications, is the online course by InterNACHI. Having done this myself, I can tell you the information here is good but lacks the hands on that most trainings offer. To really be competent one needs the hands on provided by FLIR training courses or schools like Infraspection. These courses start at around $2,200 and go up depending upon level of education taken.
The absolute minimum level of acceptable training is a course offered by Infraspection especially for Home Inspectors, it is essentially a partial Level 1 Thermographer course focusing on the aspects pertinent to Home Inspections, titled appropriately "IR Inspections for Home & Building Inspectors". Link to it is here. (IntarNACHI members get a great discount)
With proper training, the infrared camera can be a great asset to the Home Inspector.
The Home Inspection is a visual assessment, and like a moisture meter, the infrared camera can offer clues to the Home Inspector where there may be areas needing further investigation. However, reality is that there are some ‘IR’ services most home inspectors are advertising are really a gimmick rather than providing you with any real information about the condition of your home. Some home inspectors may have purchased an infrared camera, but without the right training they are not able to provide any real value. The fact is that a quality infrared home inspection requires the right equipment and the right training, and a proper thermal imaging of any home is going to in itself take as long as a typical home inspection! One can not perform a complete thermal imaging and home inspection in 3 hours.
How do I know my home inspector can do an infrared home inspection?
Fact is all Home Inspectors are not bad, in fact most are quite good. But do know what you are getting.
During the time frame of a typical Home Inspection, it is not possible to also perform a complete Infrared Inspection. This would require around 4 to 6 hours if done properly.
Some market infrared as finding water, training will teach that moisture problems are difficult to detect with an infrared camera. The camera is only a diagnostic tool that will identify anomalies and which the inspector will need to investigate further with other tools such as a moisture meter.
A complete infrared inspection is often difficult if all performed during daylight hours, but can be accomplished in some conditions. The trained inspector will know how to identify the times it can and can not work well.
A complete infrared inspection will need to cover both the interior and exterior of the home.
Now it is possible to use the tool to augment other diagnostic tools, it is NOT an infrared inspection when used in that manner. It is a tool used by the Home Inspector to provide additional information to them in their detective work.
This by the way is really where the infrared camera benefits the typical Home Inspection.
Should A Home Inspector Use An Infrared Camera?
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