Identify gas leaks with infrared thermography.

Infrared Thermography Can Even Detect Gas Leaks

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When companies think of infrared thermography, they generally think about moisture detection. However, with today’s technology, specialists can also detect gas leaks. This is a huge deal in terms of safety, cost savings and overall productivity in the workplace. Gas leaks can be dangerous in any industry, but especially so if you’re a part of the oil and gas industry. We’ve seen plants explode before as a result of a gas leak so it’s better to be safe than sorry when dealing with such a dangerous chemical.

Cost Saving Benefits of Gas Leak Detection

Not only will hiring infrared problem prevention experts keep you and your employees safe, but it will also help your bottom line. Any time gas is leaking out of a chamber, dollars might as well be pouring out instead. Infrared inspections can detect even the slightest holes or cracks where gas could exit. As a result, you know exactly where to focus your maintenance efforts to help save on the costs of wasted gas.

Productivity and Maintenance Prevention

When certified thermographers come out to your work site to inspect the property frequently, you’ll be able to boost the productivity of your workers since they won’t have to inspect the equipment themselves. It’s impossible for your employees to record every minor detail with your equipment so infrared cameras can record and compare the changes over time. Most employers agree doing a full in-depth infrared inspection for gas leaks is better than having employees spot-check equipment occasionally.

Health Advantages

Any time you can reduce the amount of natural gas emitting into the air, you’re helping out the environment. Companies don’t want the negative attention of being known for creating an unhealthy environment because of poor maintenance practices so infrared thermography is the way to go from that aspect. Also, frequent infrared inspections help prevent explosions caused by gas leaks, which we all know can be devastating for the company and surrounding patrons.

Gas leaks may not seem like a big deal on a small scale, but you never want to ignore them. Your employees likely don’t have the time or the equipment to properly detect and fix a gas leak. Hiring certified thermographers is the best and safest route to take. Contact us if you have any questions or if you’d like us to come out for an inspection.

Find mold problems early with infrared thermography.

How Can Infrared Thermography Help Detect Mold Growth?

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Mold growth can happen anywhere in commercial buildings, no matter how well you take care of the daily maintenance and cleaning. All it takes is a leaky water pipe or a slight hole in a roof and mold could be present within a day or two. The best way to ensure you don’t have a major mold problem in your building is to detect mold growth early on. With the help of infrared thermography, you can detect where mold could potentially grow and get ahead of the problem before it takes over.

Frequent Building Inspections Help

Mold grows in the most inconvenient locations, making it difficult for the average person to see. It’s always best to hire infrared consulting services to do an infrared inspection on your building frequently. The process of infrared inspection is quick and can easily detect conditions promoting mold growth.

With the use of an infrared camera, experts can detect slight temperature differences in parts of walls and roofs, which are usually indications of favorable conditions for mold. Since the temperature differences aren’t noticeable by just touching the area, professionals must use infrared thermography.

Detecting and Preventing Mold Growth

When your company uses infrared problem prevention services for your building, you save a lot of money in the long run. Having an infrared inspection done on a regular basis will not only detect the presence of possible mold, but can also help you determine what maintenance needs to be done.

The problem may be as simple as patching a hole where moisture can enter, or you could detect a larger issue that could have been detrimental to your business. It’s a scary reality when you don’t know what is growing behind the walls of your building. The best thing to do is get ahead of the problem, and the only way to do that is with infrared thermography.

As a business owner, one of your main priorities should be keeping your employees safe. The presence of mold could have lasting negative effects on your company. When you’re looking for infrared consulting services, give us a call and we will be happy to come out to take a look. Whether you want to schedule regular testing or just want a thorough inspection first, we are here to help.

IRTest infrared inspection services

How and Why to Utilize Infrared Technology With Your Construction Project

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Infrared technology isn’t a new technology by any means, but it is fairly new to the construction industry. Detecting gas leaks, moisture leaks, mold and structural integrity are all ways infrared thermography can be beneficial for construction. Every company has safety procedures and protocols to follow, but it’s nearly impossible to detect every minor issue. That’s where the help of infrared cameras comes in. Not only will a company save their own man-hours, but they will also help increase productivity and prevent a potential disaster from occurring.

Uses For Infrared Technology in Construction

Infrared inspection services can detect problems before they occur. The technology can look at machines, electrical components, faulty materials and even the actual foundation of the project once it’s set. When the infrared cameras detect a potential problem, it’s better to fix the issue right then rather than waiting until a larger problem occurs. Since one issue could lead to bigger problems with construction, infrared technology has saved some projects.

Prevent Maintenance and Potential Disasters

With an infrared electrical inspection, you can more easily identify an issue before it becomes a costly repair. This could range from the machinery being used to the actual wiring of the building being constructed. As far as the machinery goes, there’s nothing worse than working on a big project and having a machine break down. Infrared inspections can sometimes prevent that from happening if conducted in a timely manner.

Re-Evaluate Procedures and Protocols

When you undergo infrared thermography inspections, you may be surprised at the results. The inspections can help companies identify problems that may be systemic rather than just an isolated issue. Of course, you won’t be able to tell the difference unless you conduct multiple inspections consistently.

When you have these inspections completed, you can more easily re-evaluate your procedures and protocols and target the issue more directly. You may need to focus on the preparation of the machinery and other equipment before you even get started. Preventing breakdowns and keeping the production moving are the two things infrared inspection services provide to help keep your business booming.

Whether you’ve considered hiring a professional to do infrared testing with your construction project or not, be sure to get in touch with us to learn about your options. Many companies are surprised at the results of the testing, but are appreciative since they generally identify issues before they become problematic and costly.

IRTest infrared problem prevention

Infrared Technology Can Identify Hidden HVAC Issues

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The HVAC system in your building works hard around the clock to keep your employees or tenants comfortable—but how can you ever tell if your system is running as efficiently as it could be? Sometimes it’s impossible to tell unless you use infrared cameras. There are many benefits of infrared inspections for companies, but the potential cost savings is at the top of the list. Your HVAC system is an important component of your company, so you need to make sure it’s taken care of properly as well as identify any hidden issues potentially lurking.

How Infrared Cameras Work for HVAC

When dealing with HVAC systems, infrared thermography experts generally don’t know what to look for when they perform an inspection. In other words, the client doesn’t know if anything is wrong, so it’s up to the expert to determine it. Infrared cameras can detect air leaks, temperature, blown fuses, bad connections and much more. These are all things that may not necessarily immediately affect the performance of your HVAC system, but you could be wasting money because it’s working harder than it needs to be.

You May Not Know A Problem Exists

When your HVAC is working harder than it should to keep you comfortable, you’re spending more money than necessary. Infrared problem prevention is one of the best ways to ensure your HVAC system is working properly. Even the smallest air leaks could lead to additional and unnecessary costs out of your pocket. It may seem tedious at times, but you really don’t know how much money you’re wasting until you get an inspection completed. You will probably be surprised when you get your next bill and see how much lower it is after it has been running efficiently!

Potential Cost Savings With An Infrared Inspection

You have to pay upfront for an infrared thermography inspection. Sometimes experts may determine your HVAC is running properly, but most of the time there is something wrong if it hasn’t been inspected in a while. Hidden issues are very common with HVAC. If you don’t find them, you’ll be wasting money and energy on a daily basis. The harder you make your system work, the more likely it is to fail and need to be replaced earlier.

The long-term savings are evident when you look at the benefits of infrared inspection. Feel free to contact us if you have any questions about your HVAC system or if you’ve never had an inspection completed before.

Find hidden moisture with infrared thermography.

How Infrared Thermography Can Find Your Hidden Roof Moisture

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One of the scary things about owning a business is not knowing what’s going on without your knowledge or control. You generally know how your employees are performing, but what you may not realize is your building is slowly deteriorating. Roof moisture is the cause of some costly maintenance fees, which can do some serious damage to your bottom line. The bad part about it is you can’t always detect roof moisture on your own. Hiring a certified thermographer is one of the best ways to prevent a larger issue from happening with your roof. Here is how it works.

Professionals Know Where to Look

With the help of infrared thermography and experience, professionals know exactly where to look to find moisture. There are many types of roofs, and moisture doesn’t get trapped in the same places in all of them. When you have an infrared roof moisture survey conducted, the operator will identify the problem areas using their expertise and the technology available to them.

Distinguishes Wet Spots from Dry Spots

The process of radiational cooling occurs when the sun radiates heat onto the roof during the day and the heat goes back into the atmosphere at night. This process is important for infrared detection technology because wet spots in the roof containing moisture will remain warmer much longer than dry spots.

The infrared thermography equipment detects the heat distribution on the roof of your building and can determine if a particular location is warmer than the others. Warmer spots are clear indicators of moisture. Once the complete analysis is done on your roof, the expert will recommend whether they think it’s time to take action to correct the problem now or if it can wait until another time. However, when you’re dealing with moisture where it’s not supposed to be, it’s usually better to take action immediately.

Finding hidden roof moisture requires an experienced professional to conduct an infrared inspection. Business owners are often surprised their building has hidden moisture since there usually aren’t any visible signs. The importance of catching the problems early can’t be understated.

For more information on the process of finding hidden roof moisture in your building, contact us. We have a staff of professionals ready to answer any questions you have and to provide you with the preventive maintenance service you need to keep your business flourishing without unnecessary repair costs.

Detect issues early with an infrared roof moisture survey.

What Happens During an Infrared Roof Moisture Survey?

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If you’re thinking about scheduling an infrared roof moisture survey for your company’s building, you’re making a good decision. A moisture inspection is considered preventive maintenance because it can point out potential problems before a major issue arises. Many business owners overlook the importance of preventive maintenance, but a moisture inspection is definitely not something to take lightly. You may be wondering exactly how the process works and what benefits you get from it. We’ve outlined the process so you’ll be confident when the work is being done.

The Process

An infrared roof moisture survey uses a diagnostic test tool to locate visible heat, which comes from moisture potentially leaking under the roof of your building. During the daytime, the heat from the sun warms the roof. At night, the heat radiates back into the atmosphere. If an area of your building’s roof is wet, it will have a higher mass and, as a result, will retain the heat for a longer duration.

Certified thermographers use their instruments to detect the differences in those dry and wet spots. When they come across wet spots, they can identify them as problem areas to be addressed sooner rather than later.

Recommended Corrective Actions

It’s better to do a roof-wide survey to identify potential problems rather than do a roof-wide repair when the problem has become too big to be corrected in individual spots. A team of certified thermographers will provide your company with results of the infrared moisture scan and recommend actions to be taken. You may only have some surface moisture, but you could also have moisture trapped deep in the roofing system to cause larger issues.

If you’ve waited too long to have a survey completed, you may not be happy with the recommendation you receive. However, if you schedule a survey periodically, chances are you’ll only have to do minor repairs on different parts of the roof.

When you’re looking for infrared inspection services for your business, contact us for more information. We can provide you with more in-depth information about your specific roof type and what we typically find when we perform roof moisture inspections. Once you understand the long-term benefits of scheduling a survey, you’ll quickly realize it’s worth the upfront cost to do it routinely.

Find energy leaks with thermal imaging services.

Five Least-Expected Places for Air Leaks to Occur

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Air leaks are a common problem, but few people investigate them before it’s too late. This shouldn’t be the case for anyone, especially if they’re involved in a commercial facility where efficiency is key. Thermal imaging services, as well as your own vigilance, can easily help tackle this problem. The first element of prevention is knowing where to look! Here are five rarely suspected problem spots you may want to watch out for in your facility.

1. Basements

If your facility has a basement, this may be a good place to check. This is one of the most likely areas of a building to lack proper insulation, which quickly leads to circulation issues. You should know the amount of insulation and similar properties within your facility’s basement. If it isn’t at the proper level, you should anticipate some form of leaking and invest in taking care of the insulation as soon as possible. If you aren’t sure how to check for leaks, a thermal imagining inspection is a great way to ensure your basement is air tight.

2. Ventilation

Proper air vents and other similar mechanisms are highly important to the maintenance of a commercial facility. Temperatures can easily skyrocket in these structures, making it vital to have decent circulation. You’ll want to run maintenance on your ventilation occasionally to make sure they’re functioning properly. Thermal imaging services can help you detect improper ventilation in your structure. Malfunctioning vents are a surefire sign of unwanted leakage. The best ventilation systems typically have covers with magnetic and detachable properties, as well as insulation padding.

3. Air Ducts

Air ducts are just as likely as vents to have some sort of leak slipping through them. Be sure to check these at the same time you check your vents, especially if your facility relies on air conditioning for daily productivity. You don’t want the comfortable and cool air to slip right out where it shouldn’t be. Luckily, with the help of a thermal imaging inspection, you can easily find out where the problem areas are!

4. Overhead Lights

People rarely suspect their overhead lighting of being leaky and inefficient. In fact, as long as the lights are functioning, we assume they’re working at 100 percent! This actually may not be the case. Certain types of overhead lights, such as recessed lighting, rely on insulation to remain functional and safe. Be sure to check whether your ceiling lights need this type of preparation and whether it is in place. If not, know this poses a risk to your facility and employees and should be addressed soon.

5. Electrical Sockets

This is yet another quite common, but typically unheeded, source of energy leaks. It’s also the hardest to detect. To pick up on the efficiency of your commercial facility’s electrical sockets, you need to rely on a thermal imaging survey to read the output of your sockets and determine whether they’re at a normal rate. Without it, you could be negatively impacting the performance of your equipment and reducing productivity.

While these aren’t the only areas of your facility susceptible to leaks, they are the most common ones that should be inspected. Contact us to learn about other preventive measures and how our thermal imaging services can help!

Prevent problems with an infrared inspection.

How Can an Infrared Inspection Help You Fix Electrical Issues?

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Look for overheating issues with an infrared inspection.

An infrared inspection identifies potential problems.

Prevent problems with an infrared inspection.

An infrared inspection can prevent problems.

How familiar are you with electrical thermography? It is an invaluable tool for those any commercial facility, as it easily detects issues with your equipment through careful temperature readings and enables you to create a plan of action should any signs of malfunction be found. You may be wondering just how this could be true. In this blog, we’ll be going over just how infrared inspection works and how it can be used to save you valuable equipment, time and money. There are a number of different equipment types that electrical thermography can detect problems with, including:

Transformers

One of the ways in which infrared inspection equipment can be used is for the transformers in your facility. Transformers are important to your facility’s operation and equipment, as without it your equipment wouldn’t be able to function whatsoever—yet most facility managers neglect to have the transformers in their facility properly inspected by a professional thermographer. When an infrared inspection is performed on your transformer, the inspector’s device will measure the amount of heat coming from the transformer’s cooling tubes. Problems may be developing with the transformer if any of the tubes are disparate in temperature from the rest. Normally there will be an even amount of heat flowing between them all.

Fuses

A broken fuse can display problems in one of two ways—both of which can only be detected through electrical thermography. A fuse that has completely blown will have gone cold. Meanwhile, a fuse that is on the verge of blowing will appear much warmer than usual. This is a sign that the fuse cannot handle much more energy and investigated

Wires

Electrical problems can occur most frequently and easily in your facility’s wiring. A certified thermographer will be able to detect issues with the wiring with little trouble, as the major warning sign for faulty wiring is excessive heat. During the electrical testing process, the inspector will most likely compare the faulty wire to other wires connected to similar machinery. This type of discovery can signal any number of problems. Regardless of the root of the problem, having electrical testing performed allows you to take quick action to solve the issue before it escalates.

MCC (or Motor Control Centers)

The different sections of an MCC may denote trouble, which could mean problems for your facility and its equipment. A thermographic inspector will be able to inspect each part of the MCC for any potential problems, which will display similar symptoms to the many others we described above.

Overall, the way infrared inspection works is very simple on the surface, but the positive effects are numerous. To learn more about how electrical thermography can help your facility, contact us!

It's important to seek infrared thermography to identify issues.

What to Consider When Seeking an Infrared Inspection

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Infrared inspection is a useful service.

Find out when you need infrared inspection service.

It's important to seek infrared thermography to identify issues.

Infrared thermography is a necessary service.

If you’ve spent considerable time on this website, you know the importance of infrared inspection for your business and have perhaps even made the decision to set up an inspection appointment for your facility. If you have, however, you don’t want to trust the job to just anyone! There are several noteworthy things you should consider before picking an infrared inspection service. To help you with this important maintenance procedure, here are a few tips on how to go about shopping around for an infrared inspection appointment.

How Much Experience and Training Do They Possess?

When you’re looking for an infrared inspection service to take care of your company, going with the least expensive option is the worst route to take. While this may work with your other shopping needs, when it comes to infrared thermography, you truly get what you pay for. You want only the highest level of service and the best quality procedures to ensure the inspection doesn’t miss any problems waiting in the wings within your equipment. Consider any extraordinarily cheap options you find to be a red flag above all else—something to be avoided because an inspection that is too cheap is the least likely to be as effective as possible. You absolutely don’t want to be told there are no problems with your equipment, only to have it malfunction and require serious repairs shortly after your infrared inspection is performed.

Because of this risk, it is best to ask the companies you’re considering about their level of certification. The more experienced the company is, the most effective inspection you can expect to receive. Try to get hard copies of any certifications they have, if possible.

What Types of Equipment Do They Use?

The best infrared thermography service will have staff members who not only are efficient with infrared procedures, but have the highest level equipment and know how to utilize it properly. Only then can you expect the most precise results possible from the inspection. With the best equipment, you’ll find the following traits: a user who is both skilled and experienced with the equipment, high-quality imagery within the equipment’s lens, the option to fine tune the equipment as needed throughout the inspection, field of view choices and a suitable amount of sensitivity in order to pick up on heat readings as easily and accurately as possible.

It is worth remembering brands don’t matter nearly as much when it comes to infrared inspection as it does the level of technology implemented within it. A piece of infrared equipment from one of the most well-known manufacturers can still be too problematic for proper usage. When you’re shopping around for the best service, be sure to ask about their infrared detection technology and its capabilities. Then you’ll know whether you have a great service to choose from.

We hope this article will help you pick the best quality infrared inspection service for your facility. At Infrared Consulting Services, we care about the well being of your facility and its equipment. Contact us to learn how we can help you!

Prevent problems with an infrared electrical systems survey.

How Infrared Thermography Can Prevent Power Failures

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Use infrared thermography to prevent power failures.

Infrared thermography can prevent power failure.

Prevent problems with an infrared electrical systems survey.

An infrared electrical systems survey can prevent problems.

Problems often occur when we least expect them. This holds especially true for every piece of electrical equipment, regardless of age. Even the newest equipment in your facility can run into unexpected problems. Perhaps the most unfortunate element of this type of trouble is we often fail to detect it until the problem has become too severe to prevent. This can lead to outages for at least one of your equipment devices, stalling your work day or perhaps several and cutting sharply into your profits until repairs can be finished. However, there’s an easy solution for this problem: infrared thermography. Read on to learn the greatest benefits of infrared inspection.

What Are the Benefits?

Since humans cannot see temperatures, it is up to us to create and use devices that have such capabilities. This is where infrared thermography comes in. With the help of thermographic equipment, professionals can easily detect problems within electrical gear or some other element based on the temperature readings picked up and depicted by the thermographic equipment. This means you’ll be able to pinpoint problems before they become too out of control to solve through more efficient and cost-effective means. Here are some more specific ways infrared thermography can save your productivity:

  1. It doesn’t intrude upon your work day. Infrared scans can be performed in such a way you and your staff can carry on with normal operations. The scan itself can still take place, with neither process intersecting until the scan is over with and results are available for you to view. The professional in charge of the reading won’t need to touch the piece of equipment being evaluated, meaning you can still let it run if you need to.
  2. It saves money. Infrared thermography has the unique quality of being able to locate problems long before they become noticeable to you. This enables you to take early action and get the issue resolved prior to the piece of equipment failing entirely. This ability saves you money by freeing you from having to invest exorbitant amounts toward repairs, which can total anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The maintenance costs will easily rival what you’d be paying for full repairs, meaning you’d be losing far less profit and actually saving money.
  3. It’s preventive. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” as the saying goes. Sometimes the problems that result in your equipment come from the usual types of wear and tear associated with prolonged use. While easily fixable, you can’t always detect these problems independently. An infrared scan can pick up on any components within your equipment that have aged beyond repair and need to be replaced.

There are many other reasons to commission an infrared electrical systems survey. To learn more about the benefits for your commercial facility and the variety of needs infrared thermography can fulfill, contact us.