Several months ago, I wrote an article titled “Thermal Imaging Cameras Offer Economical Solutions for a Variety of Diagnostic applications”. Since then I have learned quite a bit more about the type of applications which thermal imaging is being applied. With an entry point of $3,000, one camera in particular, the FLIR/Extech i5 has created a market that didn't exist before. Prior to this price point, most people would not have thought or could not have justified the cost of using thermography for their businesses. Here is the story of four organizations that needed thermal imaging and can now afford it.

A carpet cleaning company purchased a thermal imaging camera from us in order to document a job well done. The company had been experiencing a consistent stream of customer complaints after providing their service. Their customers blamed the company for mildew, mold and stains that appeared on floor coverings and accused the company of inadequate drying after cleaning. The company was confident their cleaning process was not causing the issues. They purchased a thermal imager in order to document that their customer's floors are sufficiently dried prior to completing the job. The carpet cleaners decided it was worth $3,000 to eliminate their customer's negative and unjustified accusations of wet floors and poor service.

A one-man, residential home inspector was no stranger to thermal imaging, but prior to low cost solutions, it was a technology that only large inspection/engineering corporations could afford. The residential inspector knew he could more accurately identify problem areas with insulation, humidity, HVAC, electrical and almost every major mechanical system in his customer's homes but he simply could not justify the cost. Since purchasing a camera, he has been able to significantly differentiate his company from his local competitors. His customers are impressed with the addition of professional thermogrpahy reports created by the software included with the camera. Low cost thermal imaging has set a new service benchmark in the residential home inspection business.

A radiant floor heating company had been faced with significant costs in diagnosing problems with their installations. Prior to thermography, they had to work in confined areas to access subfloor or, worse, were forced to rip up their customer's flooring to access problem areas. It was a time consuming process of probing, followed by an expensive and sometimes cost inhibitive repair. The company bought a thermal camera and uses it to verify installations and quickly and efficiently locate problems.

A small town sheriff's department had access to an expensive thermal imaging system on a police helicopter, but evaluated the use of low cost thermal imagers in patrol applications. Four squads of sheriff's deputies kept a thermal imager in their patrol car for two weeks. It was our assumption they would use the camera to locate suspects at night, however they were more interested in using it to document evidence. The patrol officers' first reaction was that the reporting software would become a defense attorney's worst nightmare. A thermal picture overlaid on a photographic picture, a feature available on some cameras, of a suspect who ditches a weapon or stolen goods in the bushes is indisputable evidence in the court room.